Of Life and Love
by LuciferDragon
Summary: A series of one-shots, both long and short, of the boys in their lives post-show. Helps to read three fics previous before this, but not really needed. Clean versions will be posted here.
1. Notes and Overview

**Notes: **With a bit of thought, I'm going to make "Of Life and Love" a 50-theme challenge, as well as a series of one-shots. As I write them, I will check them off the list. Check back periodically for updates. With college in session again, no doubt I'll be writing more. Oh yes, there will be smut . But those will unfortunately need to be edited on here. Sorry guys. They will, however, be posted to my adultfanfiction account once they are written. This is all hetero too, so if you're a yaoi fanatic, I'll say stop right here. You won't get your fix.

**Pairings:  
**Yusuke x Keiko  
Kuwabara x Yukina  
Kurama x OC (varying from Jen to Kitsu)  
Hiei x OC

**Other Pairings**:  
OC x OC (Salem x Hyouga)

**Background Info: **These are set at different times, either between or after my fictions. It really would help to read "Beginnings" and "Bonds of Life" first, to understand how everyone is intertwined, but it's not required. All of these shots will have taken place after "Beginnings", in which Hiei has met up with his mate/wife. The ones after "Bonds of Life" will have a continuation, of Yusuke getting married to Keiko, and Kuwabara to Yukina. For two years after that, Kurama is dating Kitsu, until a year before "The Pesadilla Tournament". Between the last mentioned fics, Hiei is a father of two, and Yusuke is a soon to be father.  
I think the rest you all can catch on to. If not, the sources are on this account.

**Themes**

_1) Comfort_  
2) Kiss  
3) Soft  
_4) Pain_  
_5) Potatoes_  
_6) Rain_  
7) Chocolate  
8) Happiness  
_9) Telephone_  
_10) Ears_  
_11) Name_  
12) Sensual  
_13) Death_  
_14) Sex_  
15) Touch  
_16) Weakness_  
_17) Tears_  
18) Speed  
19) Wind  
20) Freedom  
21) Life  
_22) Jealousy_  
_23) Hands_  
24) Taste  
_25) Devotion_  
26) Forever  
_27) Blood  
_28) Sickness  
_29) Melody_  
30) Star  
31) Home  
32) Confusion  
_33) Fear_  
34) Lightning/Thunder  
35) Solitude  
36) Bonds  
_37) Technology_  
_38) Gift_  
_39) Smile  
__40) Innocence_  
_41) Completion_  
42) Clouds  
43) Sky  
_44) Heaven_  
_45) Hell_  
_46) Sun_  
_47) Moon_  
_48) Childhood_  
_49) Hair_  
50) Puzzle


	2. Not All That it Seems

Theme 33: Fear  
Pairings: None  
Time setting: After "Bonds of Life"

* * *

**Not All That it Seems**

"Now what was it she wanted for the house again?" Yusuke shoved his hands in his jacket, frowning slightly at the items on the shelf in front of him. _Was it eggs? Or flour? _He growled and whacked himself in the forehead. _I really need to learn to write these things down._ A small figure in black crossed to the next aisle out of his peripheral vision, causing him to glance that way. _It can't be… What would he being doing in human world? _Completely intrigued and his current mental shopping list getting pushed to the back of his mind, he slipped into the aisle he saw the short black-clad man enter. And had to stifle a laugh. Creeping up slowly behind the demon, he waited until he was right behind him before saying, "Fancy meeting you here Hiei."

Said demon jumped nearly out of his skin and turned with a glare. "Should've known."

"No really, what are you doing in a_ human_ convenience store? At one in the morning no less?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Hiei responded, nodding to Yusuke, who stood in his green PJ pants and zipped up jacket, and slippers on his feet. "No time for shoes?"

Yusuke shrugged. "I live in this world. You don't. Keiko needed… something. Can't remember now. Something to bake with."

Hiei arched a brow. "And me being here at this time is odd, huh?"

"It is. What are you up to?"

The shorter demon spread his arms to the side, showing he had no intention of doing anything. "Look at how I'm dressed, you really think I want to be here at this time either?" He shook the box that he held in his hand that Yusuke hadn't even seen before. "I heard they get strange cravings at strange hours of the night, but… hell all the way here for something?"

Yusuke stared.

"What?"

"You're totally whipped!"

Hiei rolled his eyes and threw the current box of sweets at the former detective's head. "You're one to talk. Keiko's needs couldn't wait until the morning? Unlike mine, your wife isn't pregnant with a short temper."

"Yeah well Keiko isn't exactly a spring flower when she's mad." He rubbed at his cheek where he'd been hit before in the past. "At least Sha doesn't slap you."

"Not intentionally or full of malice." He reached for another box of the koala shaped crackers. "When does this crap end anyway?"

"You're asking the wrong person. We're not ready for kids right now."

"You think I am?" Hiei snapped, causing Yusuke to jump at the sudden outburst.

Onlookers stopped to glance in their direction. Though with it being so late at night they weren't too pretty themselves.

Yusuke looked around nervously. "I didn't mean it like that." Sending a death glare to the lingering spectators to get them moving, he added. "I just thought … well you come off as so calm about it."

"Because it was my fault she's like this now. Demon systems work differently from yours, Yusuke." He started heading to the front to pay for the chocolate filled cookies.

Yusuke quickly remembered what Keiko wanted him to get and grabbed it, chasing after his friend.

"What are you talking about? You were all gun-ho for this three months ago at your wedding; you said so yourself."

"It wasn't certain then." He fumbled with the bills, still having trouble learning their values. Yusuke reached over and helped him, making the process go a bit faster.

Once both had made their purchases, Yusuke chased him down and stopped him from heading to the back alley that held the portal back to his street in Demon World. "What changed all that?"

Hiei turned on him, his eyes flashing red and making Yusuke back off a bit. "It's not something I know how to deal with. What do I know about being a father when mine didn't stay much longer than after my conception?"

It was then Yusuke understood. "You're scared."

"Yes!" he snapped. "Alright? I don't know anything about this. I've never even been close to a child before. How the hell do I deal with something like this?"

Yusuke fell silent for a minute, his mind dwelling back to what he said before. "How do your systems work differently? Sex is sex, isn't it?"

Hiei scoffed, but calmed down a slight degree. "Not entirely. There's different levels. Normal sex, blood sex, and the other for conceiving. The last one you never know if you are doing it if it isn't talked about beforehand." He had seen the curious look when he mentioned "blood sex". "It's not what you're probably thinking. When mates indulge in blood sex, they merely bite their partners in the same location they left their mark. It heightens all sensitivity, making males rock hard in a second, and females ready to come at the slightest touch."

"Sounds kinky."

"If used right." He sat on the curb, indicating Yusuke sit with him.

"What's the catch with the one meant for conceiving?"

"Unless previously talked about, you don't know if your partner is willing for a child. So it's risky to will for one yourself. If you don't strongly want a child, it won't work. Both parents have to want it."

"And you did…"

Hiei nodded. "I didn't expect her to want it as strongly as well. And so here we sit, four months later." He stared at the ring on his finger. "I haven't worn this for three months yet. Before I put this on, we were together five months. We only have three more months until the silence is broken." He paused. "You have no idea how frightening this is for me. I've killed countless enemies and have never felt such a fear. This isn't something I know at all."

Yusuke cracked a small smile. "Actually this is a relief."

"How so?" He stood, grabbing the cookies once more.

"I had figured there was nothing in this world that could scare you. Fear is a good emotion to have."

"Yes but not to let on to others you have it. This does not leave here."

"Agreed." They turned their separate ways, Yusuke heading down the road.

Hiei stopped after a few steps. "Yusuke."

He looked back. "What?"

"While I am scared, there's also excitement, you know?" He glanced over his shoulder. "I suppose we all need to finish growing up at some point."

Just as Yusuke was about to ask what he meant by that, the demon vanished through the portal no normal human would be able to see. "Him need to grow up? That's news to me…" Shaking his head with a smile, Yusuke continued on his journey home, ready to go back to bed.


	3. Afterlife

Theme 13: Death  
Pairings: None  
Time setting: After "The Pesadilla Tournament"

* * *

**Afterlife**

"Daddy, what is… death?"

Yusuke bit his lip and looked down at the little girl that stared intently back at him. She had sure inherited her mother's eyes. "Can't your mother tell you, Reia?"

She shook her head, "Mommy told me to ask you, because you knew more."

Yusuke put his face in his palm and growled. _You're not getting away with this one Keiko. _He spread his fingers, seeing his daughter still staring at him. "You're only four, why are you wondering about this now?"

"I saw it on the TV. Mommy was watching it. People were around a sleeping person in a box, but they were sad. Daddy why were they sad if the person in the box was sleeping?"

_Oh crap, now what do I do?_ After sifting through his mind for a few seconds and coming up with nothing, Yusuke sighed and sat down on the floor before the young girl. "Death … is like sleeping. But, you don't wake up here, in your bed. You wake somewhere in the sky, where you meet someone who will take you away. She's a very nice woman, despite what the stories say."

"So the man really was sleeping?"

"It was an actor sweetie." He brushed the hair out of her face. "It is a very scary thing to do. Trust me on that. Not knowing what will happen next. But I also want you to trust me, that those who guide you on really know what they're talking about."

"I think I understand," she said. "One day I'll go to sleep here, and wake up in an entirely new world!"

Yusuke smiled softly. "Yes, something like that. Though there is no rush to get there."

Reia smiled too. "I wouldn't be as happy without you and Mommy there with me." She threw her small arms around his neck. "I love you Daddy."

"And I love you Baby. Now run along and play."

Reia nodded and skipped off happily.

Yusuke watched for a bit before saying, "So was that good enough?"

Keiko came out from her hiding spot around the corner of the living room. "Yes, just enough to not scare her, and to keep it to the truth."

He got up. "Don't ever lay something like that on me again."


	4. Strangest of Times

Theme 1: Comfort  
Pairings: Kurama x Kitsu  
Time setting: After "The Pesadilla Tournament"

* * *

**Strangest of Times**

Kurama flinched as another object was thrown past his head. It had been one of his favorite books too.

"Why do you always keep things from me, Kurama?" Jen yelled, a small arsenal of objects in her hands. "After that shit with the Tournament, being kidnapped by demons, and you still have yet to tell me how you were involved in it. Why do you refuse to let me know anything?"

"I can't… please try to understand."

Jen scoffed, dropping her "artillery" to the ground. "So that's it. I've threatened to leave if you wouldn't tell me. And you still refuse. I see how it is." She brushed passed him to enter their room.

"Please, don't do this." He followed her, only to see that she had already had a suitcase packed prior to their argument. "Jen, don't-"

"Why? I don't like secrets, you know this." This time she shoved him out of the way with her shoulder. She opened the front door and stood there for a second, placing her bag down. "We're through." She wrenched off her engagement ring and threw it at his feet. Without another word, she left, slamming the door behind her.

Kurama stumbled slightly to the couch, falling back onto it. _She's gone. … You really blew it Kurama. She trusted you enough to marry you, and you couldn't trust her with your past._ He put a fist to his head.

"_Point is, I've been sitting back and seeing you stressing for days now. I want to help you Kurama, what part of that phrase is so hard to understand?"_

He glanced at the phone sitting next to him. _Kitsu is an option. Even though she's an ex she's been patient with me on this. … Really don't know why I cast her aside though. To be honest, she did make me a lot happier, and more at ease._ He shook his head. He didn't want to revert back. He only wanted to be a human.

_That will only work for so long Suichi, you know this, _his counterpart said_. You are who you are. Remember when this body dies, you are not anchored to it anymore. You still are a fox, you still are a demon. Your soul is still what it was prior._

_Stop it._

_That's why you left Kitsu. She still doesn't even know your true intentions. With her, you could be who you really are, and nothing else mattered. Isn't that right?_

After a moment's hesitation he answered, _Yes…_

_Then you know what you must do._

Even so, he debated on talking to her for awhile. In the meantime, he tried to get in contact with Hiei, only to have Sha answer. And she sounded busy.

"Oh, Sha. Sounds like you have your hands full there."

"Yeah. Daddy dearest had to go off on a mission. He'll be back in a few days. Is something wrong?" She growled softly. "Hold on a second." Her voice grew fainter. "Kiete stop harassing Shadow! Or did you not learn last time dogs will bite back?" A few seconds of silence followed by, "I don't care if he ate a piece of your Lego set, you can do without that piece for awhile. It'll come out eventually."

Kurama chuckled. "I bet you can't wait for him to come back."

"Oh you have no idea." She let out a sigh. "I'll let him know you called."

"No, that's not necessary. But thanks. Bye." He hung up after hearing her response. _I doubt Yusuke or Kuwabara would be as logical either… No other choice._ Cautiously, and with his finger shaking a bit, he dialed the number to the vixen's home. A nervous pang started in his stomach, one he always felt around her, or even when he thought of her.

"Hello?"

He almost couldn't talk for a second. He felt his breath caught in his throat.

"If this is a joke-"

"No, it's not," Kurama said, when he finally found his voice.

He heard her sigh in relief a bit. And for some reason it made a tingle go up and down his spine. "Ah, good. I had already threatened castration on someone earlier. Didn't feel like doing so again." She paused. "So what's going on now?"

"Jen's… well she's gone."

"Wait what? Didn't she just say she'd marry you just like two weeks ago? What happened with that?"

"I know this is asking a lot, but can you come here?" He bit his lip.

"Yeah, just give me a few. I'll shower and head over. Don't do anything stupid."

He laughed sadly. "Don't worry about that." They said their good-byes and he let out an explosive sigh. Truth be told, he wasn't as screwed up over it as he thought he would be. Sure he loved Jen, and probably always would, but he wasn't _in_ love with her. That love one person still kept. Sighing, he turned the TV on and sank into the cushions, not really paying attention to the screen.

* * *

It didn't take Kitsu too long to arrive. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting," she said as she seated herself on the sofa, getting comfortable as he sat next to her. She arched a brow at the screen. "Bridezillas?"

He blushed slightly and switched to a different channel. "I just had it on to distract me. Jen must've…"

Kitsu smiled. "If she would've acted like this, I'd have to shoot her for being so spoiled."

This made Kurama crack a small grin. "From what she had started to plan, yes she would've been like that."

She shuddered. "Honestly, I'm not sure how you put up with her for so long." She slightly winced, expecting him to yell at her. His reaction surprised her.

He actually laughed.

"Wait, a laugh?"

"Yes. I'm not sure how I did it either." He clenched his hands in front of him. "Do you… believe in second chances?"

She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "I'm not sure what you're asking me. It's really not up to me to decide if she'll come back or not."

"You misunderstand." He silently let out a deep breath. His nerves were eating at his stomach again. "Lost relationships. Broken friendships. Do you believe they… can be repaired to what they once were?"

Her face fell slightly. "Sometimes, though usually the one at fault apologizes for his or her stupidity." She stared intently at him, shifting her body to face him, tucking her legs under her body to keep her skirt straight. "Also, he explains his reasons for fucking it up in the first place."

He flinched. "I know; I owe you a lot of apologies."

"That doesn't even begin to cover it." Kitsu felt herself get angrier, two years of rage that had been simmering under her skin coming to the surface. "You left me for a human. You left me with no explanation."

"Kit-"

"You left me alone in demon world."

"I know bu-"

"You left behind who you really are. You left every-"

"Enough!" He didn't even feel himself move until he was on top of her, pinning her arms over her head as he kept her between his body and the sofa. "I know. And I'm sorry."

She pulled her lips back in a snarl, showing her fangs. "Who was it who called me whenever he had a problem with his 'new girl'? Who was it that had to deal with the pain, knowing that love belonged to someone else now?"

"It never changed owners, Kitsu…"

Her eyes grew a bit in surprise and her lips lowered. "What…?"

"I've known it for awhile now, but had no way of acting on it."

This made her anger return. This time she flipped them so he was pinned beneath her, her tail waving about behind her. "Yet you knew just how to leave me without explanation. Do you know how many restless nights I've had, wondering 'What did I do? Why did he leave me?' Well answer me dammit, once and for all."

"I wanted to be rid of who I was, permanently." He reached up and cupped her face, ignoring how she flinched ever so slightly. "Before I met you, I thought I had rid myself of the demon side. I didn't expect him to be able to come out so easily around someone like you. Recently, I've seen I can't hide who I really am. When this body dies, my spirit is free again. I am a demon, and I cannot be anything more, or less. I tried fooling myself into thinking if I stayed with a human, the demon would lie dormant once more. It only grew angry."

Her eyes went soft finally. "Why did you torture yourself so much? And then planned to marry her? What were you thinking?"

"I wanted to try to revert to my original thinking. That I don't need to be a fox."

"You fool…" She stroked his face lightly. "You are who you are. Did you not see that in torturing yourself, you also tortured me?"

He felt a pang of guilt. "I know…"

"Did you not see the pained smile I gave each time I tried to help you?"

"I did…"

"Did you not realize I wished to the gods we had not lost that child, and that we would have remained together?"

"It couldn't have been helped. The child part." He softly raked his fingers through her hair. "This is probably the worst time for it all, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry about these past two years, for leaving you without warning. For everything. Please, let me show you how sorry I am."

He moved to kiss her, but she shook her head, pressing his chest to push him back down. "I've been suffering and dealing with this for two years. A while longer will make no difference."

Curious, he watched the vixen slink down his figure, knowing exactly what was to come, but still wondering how much had changed.

"Before I do anything further I want to know; did you ever stop loving me?"

"Never. I loved Jen too, but it never compared to how I felt about you." He let her continue to do as she pleased for a few minutes, until his control started to slip. He reversed their roles, situating himself right where she had been on him previous. _She even still tastes the same… Why did you ever give her up you idiot?_

Kitsu couldn't believe the situation at hand. He had just lost his fiancé not more than an hour ago, and here she was under him, all their old feeling flying back into play. While it seemed like a dream, it was all too good to be true.

His name fell off her tongue, causing another ripple of excitement to tear through his body. Unable to contain himself any further, Kurama continued on further, joining their bodies into one. Just the feeling alone left his head spinning. _This is wrong. I know this wrong. Jen just left this same house, this same room, and here I am having sex with my ex-girlfriend. This isn't like me at all. While I didn't love her as she loved me, Jen doesn't deserve this. Kitsu doesn't deserve to be pulled into this either._ He was wrenched from his thoughts as her walls tightened playfully around him, causing him to moan into her shoulder. "That's not playing fair."

"When was I ever fair in this situation, hm?"

"Point taken." _Forgive me for this, but it is something that needs to be done. _He made himself move again feeling his other half want to come out. He thought he had suppressed it when…

"You might as well change, I can see the silver coming through your hair," Kitsu said with a slight smile.

"But I don't-"

She pressed a finger to his lips. "I've always accepted all of you. Your silver hair, or your red. Don't hide who you really are from me."

With her words, he let himself go, completely and fully for the first time in two years. He clamped down on his newly formed fangs as his need intensified. "I never stopped loving you," his now deeper voice rasped. "I never wanted any of this. For you to be hurt, or for anyone to be hurt." He pushed her legs back as far as they would go, groaning against his teeth. "You don't know what it's like to have two personalities fighting over what is right and what is wrong. I thought-"

She leaned up and captured his lips in a kiss to silence him. When she pulled away, she smiled softly. "I don't know, but I do understand."

He quickened his pace. "Kitten… I'm…"

"I-I am too."

With his last stroke he pulled out and released onto her belly. He hadn't willed for a child, but he still knew she didn't like that sort of clean up. Slowly his hair faded back to red, and the other additions faded away. His eyes though, changed completely.

"Since when did the green have flecks of gold in them?"

"Never; why?"

She laughed behind her hand. "You may want to check a mirror."

Alarmed he got up, nearly tripping over the pants that had fallen around his knees, and went into the master bathroom, looking at his eyes. Sure enough, a good amount of gold still hung around him them. "Dammit…"

"It should fade, shouldn't it?" Kitsu crept in behind him, pulling her shirt back into place.

"I hope so." He didn't tense as her hand softly laid on his arm. "I'm sorry."

"For what now?"

"For that. It shouldn't have happened."

She pulled away. "I… I understand."

He shook his head. "No. You don't. You really don't." He turned around to face her, holding on to the hand that was just on his arm. "I shouldn't have done any of that. You were here to comfort me and it turned into that. For that I am sorry."

"Why though? We both needed that. This," she gestured out the door into his now solo room, "is what you must get used to now. Sleeping alone again." She looked away sadly. "I know this was something that was too good to be true. But I went with it. I know you, Kurama, and this isn't you. Either side of you. To just jump the bones of someone else right after one option leaves."

"I didn't-"

"I know you didn't mean it. Any of it. You wanted a release, and that's what you got. I hope you can sleep well now. I'll be going."

"Kitsu listen to me." He pinned her to the wall, hands on either side of her head. "The physical act of what just happened, that's what I didn't want to do. The mental aspect of it I did. I do still love you."

"And I you, but you are hard to believe, considering she's been gone almost two hours. Not days, weeks, or months. The situation at hand is against you." She stared into his eyes. "Maybe in a month or so, I'll believe you. But right now, I can't."

He sighed a bit. "I know. Even with that, please stay with me. If only for tonight."

"Only if you don't touch me like that again tonight."

"I promise you, I will not."

She smiled slightly. "We find comfort in the most oddball of ways, don't we?"

"How so?" he cocked his head to the side, letting her out of his arm cage.

"You needed me, of all people, to come to your aid. I needed you just to be around to be content."

He smiled as well. "Just your smile itself puts me in a state of contentment. It always did."

"Though, um, could we sleep on the sofa? I don't think I'll be at ease in your room."

"Understandable." He followed her out to the living room after tossing her one of his larger shirts to sleep in. _I'll make this right for both of us. The loss just might work out for the better. Though it was too soon to do something like this… I am where I belong._


	5. Wrong Move

Theme 22: Jealousy  
Pairings: None  
Time setting: After "The Pesadilla Tournament"

* * *

**Wrong Move**

Working in a cubical was never really in his life-long plans, but Kazuma Kuwabara did anything and everything he could to be the bread-winner of his family. He was the man, after all, and the man did everything to support the ones he loved. Even if it _did_ drive him insane day in and out.

At the end of each week, just like today, he'd head to the gym closest to his home and release all his pent-up anger on the heavy bag that they had there. It was usually enough to ebb off the anger so he could go home to his wife to relieve the tension in other ways.

Today though, as he was passing by the lunch room to clock out, conversation floating out of that door made him stop in his tracks.

"… _you know the one I'm talking about. The one with the blue hair and red eyes. She was out of this world!"_

His interest caught, he paused and listened. How many girls in human world had the features they were describing anyway?

"_Oh, the one that was here with Kazuma? If he finds out, he'll kill you. Don't you remember his records from high school? Before he started studying and getting serious."_

"_I remember, and he won't find out. He should be long gone by now. Anyway, you can't deny that his wife was smoking in that dress at the party."_

"_I can deny it because that's his _wife, _Amuro. The man's sole source of everything."_

A scoff followed that statement. _"So? Doesn't mean I can't look. Or take a few grabs when he's not looking."_

His temper and jealousy that another man had even dared think those thoughts triggered a blinding rage, making him slam the lunch room's door wide open.

"Kazuma! I thought you would have gone off to the gym by now," Amuro said, trying to pull off that he hadn't been talking about Yukina just seconds ago. "What brings you-"

He never found out as a punch landed square on his jaw. Followed by another. And another. And finally, a kick to the gut. "If I _ever_ hear another word of you talking about my Yukina behind my back, you won't be walking again the next day." He picked Amuro up by the shirt collar. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Y-y-yes, perfectly Mr. Kuwabara," he wheezed.

"Alright then." He let the man drop and turned to the other. "You have a good head on your shoulders. You know what it's like to hold something precious, and you know how it feels to have your territory intruded on."

The other man nodded. "Scum like him have no right to speak such vulgarity."

They each exchanged a look of knowing before Kazuma stepped over Amuro, taking his leave. One good thing had come from the encounter; he'd be able to go straight home to a warm meal and even warmer eyes.


	6. A Child's Dream

A/N: I'd like to thank those that are reading these and writing reviews. Even a fave and an alert! :O Anyway, just thought I'd give a shoutout/ thank you to those that are giving this fic a shot, and an even bigger thanks to those leaving those things for me. Really means a lot.

Theme 47: Moon  
Pairings: None  
Time setting: After "The Pesadilla Tournament"

* * *

**A Child's Dream**

"_Help! Dad help me!"_

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Dammit not again." He went outside in the cold night air to see his son Kiete hanging by his wings in a tree. Again. "How many times have I told you to not try to fly away?"

Kiete rubbed at his tear-stained face, keeping his black eyes closed. While he had inherited his mother's eyes, his white-streaked black hair was a dead giveaway to who gave him that one. "I… had a purpose this time for trying," he said, his five-year-old voice oozing his innocence.

"And it better be a good one or I'll make sure your mother hears of this." He leapt up to the tallest branches and did the careful process of getting the leathery appendages out of the tree.

"I didn't want to vanish them like Mom taught me. I'd be in a worse situation."

"You're in a bad situation either way. Get on and I'll help you down." He knelt down so the boy could grasp tightly on to his shoulders, allowing them to both fall back to the ground safely. Once Kiete was back on his own feet, he pulled the back into his body through the tattoo marks on his back. No question who gave him those, either. Instead of forcing him to sit on the damp grass, Hiei led him to the swing set not too much farther away, making him sit. "Explain yourself."

Kiete took a sudden liking to his shoes.

"I won't hesitate to ask your mother to restrain your wings for awhile."

This made the little boy speak. "I saw it on the human TV when I went to visit Uncle Kurama. It was a space thing, all about the moon. Of how there has been man on there." He looked up at the glowing orb in the demonic sky. "I wanted to be the first demon to go. How cool would that be Dad? Not even the first demon, but the first demon kid!"

Hearing this, Hiei couldn't help but crack a small smile. _The naïveté of children… At least this is better than being kept up all night from the screaming of his younger self._ He took a seat in the swing next to him. "There's a lot of complications to that."

"We're different than humans; we don't need those big suits to breath or survive up there. We can go without a rocket."

"I'm not a scientist, I can't tell you everything and explain it, but there are certain things different up there that we don't have here. It would be colder than it is on the surface, or even in the highest atmosphere. There is no oxygen, which, even as demons, we need to breathe. The only time you don't need to breathe is if you're dead, or your body doesn't carry lungs. Which ours do, by the way." He saw his son's face fall. "But it never hurts to dream…"

"I guess not. But one day, I want to fly higher than Mommy can!"

He smiled a bit again. "Of course."

* * *

After helping him back up the stairs to their apartment and telling him to go to bed, Hiei looked out at the moon from his bedroom window. "I suppose it really doesn't hurt to dream, does it?"

"No. Otherwise, the majority of what we have now wouldn't be possible," Shakaku answered, sitting up in their bed. "You told him right."

"Something tells me we won't have to get him down any time soon again."

"Good. Now come to bed; it's getting late."

He nodded, slipping in beside her once tossing his shirt to the floor. The glow of the moon in their room made him reflect on his words. _His dreams will eventually fade to that of other things, but at least he has a chance at happiness. Something neither of us had until recently…_

"Inspiration comes from the strangest of places sometimes," he heard his wife mumble before he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Personal Issues

Theme 38: Gift  
Pairings: None  
Time Setting: Before "Happy Anniversary"

* * *

**Personal Issues**

"This Secret Santa party was a great idea," Sha said, sipping on her wine as she watched her two children exchange gifts with Hyouga's kids and Yusuke's daughter.

"How much longer until they head to bed and we start our own?" Yusuke asked.

"Give them a bit longer. They'll get tired in no time with all that hot chocolate in them. The fire will help in that area too." Salem laughed as Yuki, his younger daughter, opened up a gift from Reia, hearing her squeal in delight at a play-makeup kit. "Thanks Keiko, you knew just what she likes."

Keiko laughed. "Not hard at all. She's a little girl, and demon or not, girls like to be pretty." She looked up at them as Yuki was on the move. "Uh-oh."

"What 'uh-oh'?' Hiei asked as he looked over too, then had to stifle a laugh. "Salem, seems she's got a crush on my boy there."

"Huh? Oh jeez…" They watched on as Yuki said something to Kiete, and then pointed upward, showing he was under some mistletoe. "Hell if I know why I even put that stuff up there." Kiete's face went to that of panic as he scrambled to get away, but Yuki trapped him in a vice grip and planted a kiss right on his face, which then seemed to deflate with defeat.

"Don't. Say. Anything," the seven-year-old called over, seeing both his parents' and his family friends holding back laughter at him.

Content Yuki went back to her makeup box to examine what she got. Misou, Salem and Hyouga's older son, around Kiete's age, fought to figure out how the Transformer he got from Tsunada worked. Reia snuggled a big bear she got from Kiete, and Tsunada was coloring in a new book she got from Yuki. Kiete merely tossed a baseball he got from Misou.

Seeming pleased with how the kids were keeping to themselves, Keiko tugged on the sleeve of Sha's black sweater. Not that she had to since the demon was a good nine inches shorter than her. "Do you think I can talk to you for a few?"

"Of course." Sha put her drink down and turned to the human woman. "What of?"

"Um… alone, if you don't mind."

"Sure." She nudged her husband in the arm to get his attention. "Make sure he doesn't throw that in someone's face. I'll be right back."

"Leaving so soon?" Hiei arched a brow.

Sha rolled her eyes. "Not without you three. Keiko just wants some girl talk. Nothing big."

"More sex stories?"

"You. Wish." With that, she took Keiko's arm and they left through the front door, nabbing their coats on the way out.

They were silent until they reached the coastline behind Salem and Hyouga's home.

"What did you want to ask me?" Sha conjured a small ball of fire to a pile of sticks in front of them, giving them a bit of light and heat against the cold winter air.

"Well, I didn't know who else to ask. It's a bit… personal."

"Erm, well I'm not too sure how much help I can be with human women personal problems," Sha said, biting at her lip.

"Oh no, no. Not personal on my end but…"

"But?"

"Yusuke. He's been acting… oddly at times during…" Even by the small light of the fire Sha could see a furious blush starting on her face.

"During sex," she supplied for her.

"Yes, that." She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Ever since he first came here to beat Sensui, and came back as a… Mazoku I think he called it," she said, getting a confirmation nod from Sha, "he's been different when we're alone. Really it started when we first began having sex when he came back a few years ago. At times when he's… really into it, he'll grow fangs. He'll start stating he wants to 'mark' me. And at the slightest cut I get, or any way he can smell my blood, it drives him insane."

Sha smiled. "And why come to me with this? Of all people."

Keiko's blush grew deeper. "You just come off as… more comfortable with sex, and with the darker aspects of it."

"A nymphomaniac, you mean."

"No, I didn't mean addicted, I just mean comfortable. And comfortable with… kinky stuff."

"Ah." She hugged her legs to herself. "That is true. It does make things a bit more interesting."

"You have a demon husband. What does Yusuke's… desires mean?"

"Keiko stop being so sheepish about this. It's just sex. It's a part of life." Seeing the girl look down, she softened. "His desires are that of a normal demon. Demon men want to claim what's theirs, to show that they and only they can have it." She lifted up her hair on the left side of her neck, exposing the fang marks that would never fade. "That is what he wants to do by the bite, hence why his fangs grow."

"So if he marks me, it'll stop."

Sha laughed. "Oh no honey it doesn't. But, it does feel amazing."

Keiko looked confused. "Feel? The bite?"

"Well not the bite, the fangs in flesh thing, but the feeling that the penetration makes. With demons, depending on who marked who, their sensitivity doubles. Every time I'm bitten I'm ready to come like that." She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

"What about the blood thing though?"

"Blood play is another normal demon thing. It just may seem odd to you as a human. After being marked, or have been with someone for a certain amount of time, the scent, sight, or taste of the other's blood is… well intoxicating. Not like with vampires who need it to survive, it's more of an aphrodisiac to couples."

"Oh. I guess that explains it. … Do you guys… do that often?"

"Mhm. It's not really as messy as it sounds. Not if you don't want to be messy, that is. I'm not sure about with humans, but the amount lost isn't really enough to affect you negatively. We've delved into the messier aspect a few times. It is fun though. But yet again, that's just us as demons. And him being the typical dominative male."

"Also does he get… rough. Kinda like he's not himself?"

"Ooooh yeah. Not too often, but it happens. Happens to me too, but even rarer than his slips. It's his carnal needs taking over, making him go rougher and not really care too much about anything else." She smiled at the human woman next to her. "I guess it's a bit harder, what with him being a little different than you. But all of that is normal when the demon side kicks in, trust me on that. Have you let him mark you yet?"

"No. I was too afraid and didn't understand why he was growing fangs."

"Then I know just what you can give him as a gift tonight."

Keiko looked hesitant. "Does it… hurt?"

Sha shook her head. "Nah. You think it would, but it's the complete opposite."

"Alright, thanks. I just needed to settle my mind on a few things."

"No problem." The girls got up, heading back to the house. Sha stopped them outside the door. "I almost forgot; Reia is a deep sleeper, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"You're gonna need her to be. The only drawback to the marking thing, and any other time after he bites that mark, you're going to be… very submissive and loud, so to say."

Keiko blushed furiously, making Sha laugh.

"You get used to it, trust me."

"Yeah now you tell me, after I decide to go through with it."

Sha just laughed harder as they went back into the house. "Sweetie, just be happy you aren't a demon as well. The effects of the bite is double intense for me than it is for you. If I can take it, you can."

"Can take what?" Yusuke said as they reentered the party.

"You'll find out soon enough lover boy." With a last wink, the dragon went back to her own husband, leaving behind a very confused mazoku and a crimson colored human.


	8. Rain Dance

Theme 6: Rain  
Setting: During "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: Hiei x OC

* * *

**Rain Dance**

"So what was your favorite part?" Sha said as they walked down the demon city sidewalks in the chilly fall air. She lightly swung their arms between them as they headed back to their apartment.

"Honestly? First off I can't believe you got me to go see a chick flick." Hiei rolled his eyes, though grinned at her attempt at a fierce gaze. "The glory hole."

She laughed. "Penis in the eye? That's an odd one to like over all the others."

"I told you, you dragged me to see the thing. What about you?"

"The maggot-infested foil-pack hitting the windshield."

"Obviously. I've never heard you snort while laughing before."

She flushed a furious crimson, the streetlamps making them seem even redder. "It's not very often, so don't expect to hear it again anytime soon."

Just as he was about to respond, the clouds that had been giving a gloomy overcast most of the night began pouring out rain in buckets. "Ah great."

"Oh don't tell me you've never been stuck out in the rain before."

"Babe, a few months ago I've never had a girlfriend situation before. There's some things I've missed out on, but being stuck in the rain isn't one of them." He pulled his jacket around his body a bit tighter. "Though I'll admit the company is more pleasurable."

She smiled. "I bet it is." Nodding back in the direction of the theater, she said, "So is it a lie?"

"Hm?"

"That men hate oral sex."

"I don't know whether to laugh or not to that. Of course men don't hate it. Otherwise I'd shove you off every time you tried."

"You also wouldn't make the noises that you do." She nudged his wet side with her own.

"Like you're one to talk. I am nowhere near as noisy as you."

She stopped dead in her tracks in front of him. "Oh? I'm sure I could name a few times where you've been exceptionally loud."

"Hardly."

She bared her fangs. "What is it about you that drives me insane?"

"My unique characteristics and charm?" he said, using a similar answer of hers from a few months ago, tweaking it for his use. "Or for the fact I love making you and everyone around me pissed off."

"As you said, hardly."

He pinned her against the door to their apartment building, under the iron shelter. "I can make you bothered in more ways than one, you do realize that?"

"Right here in public? I wasn't aware you were into voyeurism." She arched a brow.

"Your body is for my eyes only."

"Good, then we can hold off for a few minutes longer. There's something I want to do."

Curiously, he allowed her to drag him back out into the rain. "And what will us getting more soaked to the bone solve?"

She laughed. "Giving us more reason to… warm up later." She leaned on her tiptoes and kissed him. "If you'll keep me warm that is."

"I always will."

"Ha, then let's head upstairs and start drying off."

A ghost of a smile touched his face as they entered the elevator up to their apartment. _Who knew this is what Yusuke always fought so hard to protect?_ Without warning he pushed her against the wall, holding a fistful of her wet hair in his grasp as he kissed her forcefully.

She pulled back a bit. "What's this about now?"

"Don't talk," he whispered, hiking her legs over his hips.

"But there's a camera-"

"Let them watch," he growled, tugging her wet jacket open. "They won't see anything worthy anyway." He plotted out the rest of the night in his mind as the elevator dinged for their floor. Funny, what a bit of rain and two soaked people in a confined space can create.


	9. Song of Life

**Theme 29: Melody  
Time Setting: Two years before "Pesadilla"  
Pairing: Kazuma x Yukina focused**

**

* * *

Song of Life  
**

Kuwabara had always had a soft spot for the ladies, so to say. What would win him over the most, and seal the deal, was how pretty their voices were. It wasn't surprising that he fell head over heels in love with his now-current wife, Yukina. It wasn't until after they married, that he fell in love with a different aspect of her voice.

Before they did, Yukina made sure she went to human school, to study to be a midwife. She loved life, and wanted to help bring it into the world. "I have seen enough bloodshed and death in my years, I want to be able to see beginnings, instead of endings," she had told Kazuma as she started out, getting full support from him and Genkai both. The old woman gladly helped with the finances, and even some help when the schooling got tough.

After a year, she was able to pass and start helping, both in the human and demon realms. She even helped Sha through her second pregnancy. Up in Genkai's temple, Kuwabara was knocking back a few beers with Hiei as they waited for Yukina to finish getting the newborn and mother comfortable and stable when he said, "I don't know how you do it Hiei." He nodded towards the fire demon's lap, where his firstborn lay fast asleep. "I never saw you as a father-figure."

"Neither did I." He finished his can and put it next to him, staring down at his son. "And now a daughter. This is going to be hell in a freaking hand-basket, huh?"

"Ah, it can't be that bad. The gender balance in the house is even now."

"Yes, but now we'll have territorial spats, of what belongs to what child." He sighed. "Though I'm just making this out to seem worse than it really will be."

"Look at your life. It's done a complete turn-around for you." He was about to say more until his wife came from the room next to them, rolling down the sleeves of her shirt.

Hiei was about to jump to his feet before he remembered the sleeping child on his lap. Instead, he asked, "How is she?"

"Sha is doing fine, and so is Tsunada. Both are resting peacefully now, if you'd like to stay with her."

He nodded and gently shook Kiete awake. "We're going to see Mommy now. I can't really get up with you sleeping right there."

The two-year-old rubbed his black eyes sleepily, but got up all the same, following after his father into the next room.

"You are something else," Kuwabara said, truly awestruck. "I was seriously considering passing out from hearing all the screaming, but you stuck it out. You're amazing at this mid-wife thing."

Yukina smiled. "It's really rewarding, being able to help out like this. Healing is one-thing, but helping produce life… there's no words to describe the feeling it gives." She began humming a song, foreign to his ears, as she gathered some food for the weary mother.

In that instant, he fell in love with her voice all over again. The way she flowed through the music seemed to cast an enchantment on him. It almost made him sad when she stopped, needing to finish attending her duties.

_A piano might do for her next Christmas present,_ he thought. _That way her voice can be played in more melodies than one._


	10. Psychology Lessons

Theme 14: Sex  
Setting: Sometime in "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: Hiei x Sha

* * *

**Psychology Lessons**

A surprise met the fire demon's eye as he came "home" one day. He technically hadn't moved in just yet, but he was over so often he never really went back to his room in Salem's home. Instead of making some attempt at food for them (she had gotten a bit better, with practice), Sha sat in a corner of her couch, reading what seemed to be a large book of some sort. From her curled up posture, he couldn't see the title on the bindings. "Be still my oddly beating heart, you do know how to read!" He dodged a wayward sofa pillow she flung at him.

"Yes I can read, and in three languages mind you. English and Japanese aren't my mother tongue." She stuck out her tongue in a childish nature before turning back to her book, tucking her red bangs behind her small pointed ears.

"Then what, pray-tell, are you even reading? I've never seen you crack open any of the books on your shelf." He kicked off his boots in the foyer and put his cloak on the rack.

"I'll have you know I've read all those Dark-Hunter and Dresden novels I own." She pulled her legs out from under her and sat up straight, letting him look at the cover as he got closer.

"Human Psychology?" He quirked a brow. "Why do you care, for one, and two, where did you get this?"

"To answer your second question first, I got it from Yukina. She has to study this too for her midwife thing. To the first, I wanted to see how different humans are." She flipped a page over, staring intently at the new words. "Their views on sex are quite humorous, actually."

"Sex is psychological? I thought it was instinctual." He stood behind her, peering over her shoulder. "'Arousal, plateau, orgasm, contentment' what the hell is that bolded for?"

"The four stages of sex to a human mind."

"… There's stages?"

She grinned. "Well for you, it's arousal, plateau, orgasm, and repeat a few times before contentment, in the human sense."

"What can I say? I have more stamina." He shrugged. "But even so, that comes with instinct. I didn't know how to please the female body before you, and I did fine my first shot. How can that be psychological?"

"In a manner of speaking, instinct is psychological. It's in your mind, just subconsciously. The way they're explaining it here just puts it into logical thought instead of doing what you feel is right."

He frowned. "Why make a simple way of life complicated?"

"To torture students. Especially those with inactive sex lives."

"Then you wouldn't be so tortured if you had to do this, would you?"

"While in class I would be. After getting home, no." She grinned. "Though the way they're explaining this does make a bit of sense."

He snorted a bit. "Putting big words to something that doesn't need words at all. Yeah, that makes complete sense."

She rolled her eyes. "_Virse sim'tle, ion'mio_."

"You do realize I have no idea what you said, right?"

"Exactly, so you can't get mad at me." She quickly added, "Humans can also blame sex for multiple mental disorders, like E.D, gender confusion—"

"Wait, E.D., that… erectile dysfunction thing, right?"

"Yeah, though I won't ask how you know about it, since you've obviously not suffered from it."

"You see weird shit on TV in human world late at night. But how can you not get hard at a naked woman?"

She raised a brow. "I can say one name of one woman in your past and you'd know that answer."

He flinched. "Yeah, half charred, don't remind me, please." He shook it off. "Even so, I mean with someone like you. It's impossible to stay soft in that circumstance. Hell even now."

"You're still young, for one, and two, you're a demon. Your cock has no problems like a human's does."

He grinned while he sat on the couch next to her. "You know, saying 'your cock' to me puts you in a different view in my eyes."

"Mm, I bet it does. But I want to keep going with this." She smiled at his growl of frustration.

"Fine, get on with it. What about that gender confusion thing?"

"It's something that can happen with anything really. A boy growing up in a girly fashion, a girl growing up in a boy's. A victim of rape that doesn't want to stay in their own body anymore, considering it unclean. Or the really odd one that they just one day wake up and think they're not the gender they're supposed to be." She pressed her lips together, furrowing her brow at the page. "It's no wonder they live for a short amount of time. Who would want to have so many problems?"

"I thought there was more than just sexual disorders."

"Oh hundreds more. Just for now, I'm in the sex section."

Curiosity struck, he asked, "And did you read any of the other pages in this book, or did you jump straight to the sex part?"

"Well of course. What else is more fun that a body can do?" She looked at him in a matter-of-fact way. "You can't deny that."

"Who can deny it?"

"Actually, there's those that can. Like woman with the feminine version of E.D."

He held up his hands. "Hold it, nothing on a woman is supposed to get hard in that sense, so what the hell are you about to tell me, and do I want to know?"

"It's not like the male problems," she laughed, seeing him relax once more. "It's more of the problems in arousal. They just don't get horny, to put it in blunt terms."

"Oh good, something you can't possibly suffer from."

She bopped him with the remaining sofa pillow. "We're not discussing me."

He grabbed her wrist and, placing the other hand around her waist, pulled her back with him, making her straddle his hips. "And I'm done with discussing. So if you don't mind, I'd like to get to the… hands-on part of the lesson."


	11. Dinner Negotiations

Chevon: Thanks a lot for your review. It really does mean a lot. You're one of the first that said I was able to make it seem like my characters were part of the show. I hope you enjoy this installment, and I recommend reading the other fics these are for if you'd like to get to know the other characters some more. :)

Theme 5: Potatoes  
Time: After "Pesadilla"  
Pairing: None

* * *

**Dinner Negotiations**

Yusuke pulled the rest of the leftovers out of the microwave once sure they were cooked. "At least I don't have to worry about starving while Keiko's out with the girls tonight." He looked over at Reia, who had paused in her coloring to look at the silly puppets on the TV. "Dinner's almost done. Do you want milk, or apple juice tonight Reia?"

"Apple juice Daddy." She resumed her coloring, seeing the puppets give way to a commercial.

"Mommy should be home soon, but we can show her we can do fine on our own, right?" He watched her merely nod, too captivated by adding color to her picture. Without her seeing, he used some of his spirit energy to warm up the potatoes that had gotten a little chilly. Not that she had never seen him use his energy before, and it wasn't as if she didn't have some control over her own. He just didn't want her thinking it was alright to use when it wasn't absolutely necessary. _No need to really reheat this in the microwave for just a few seconds._ Once happy with the temperature, he put that and the pre-cut chicken on the dining room table. "Alright Reia, come eat."

When she hopped up into her seat, she looked at what her father was putting on her plate. "Yucky potatoes!"

"Oh stop, they're good for you. They're like nature's glue!"

"Ew! I don't want to eat glue!" She pushed the plate away from her, making Yusuke roll his eyes.

_How would Hiei scare the shit out of his kids into eating? _After thinking a bit, a small smile cracked on his face. "Y'know, there's demons on the other side that just _love_ eating kids that don't eat their potatoes."

Reia paled. "N-nuh-uh, you're making that up Daddy!"

"Oh but it's true. I've met a few of them. They say the kids are extra tasty because of the lack of the starch. It doesn't upset their stomach." He saw her lip tremble before she started wolfing down the potatoes, pushing them down with the apple juice. _Score one for Dad,_ he chuckled, sitting down himself to eat.

* * *

Keiko came home a few hours later just as Reia was heading off to bed. "Were you a good girl for Daddy today?"

Reia nodded. "And I ate up all my potatoes, so the demons can't eat me!" After that, she skipped off to her room to sleep.

Keiko rounded on Yusuke, who was relaxing in the living room. "Did you really tell her demons would eat her if she didn't eat!"

He saw her preparing for a slap to his face, so he waved his hands in front of him, calling for a time-out. "Not like I could've used the human one 'If you don't eat, I can just take it to the starving child down the street'. That one she wouldn't have fallen for. Since she knows demons exist of all shapes and sizes, well it seemed like it'd work." He paused before adding, "She's not traumatized."

"Only because she knows there's good demons too, like the girls I was just out with! You want Reia to start thinking people like Sukuna, Kitsu, Hyouga, or even Sha will eat her?"

"Keiko, relax! She knows that the ones we allow near her are harmless. It was just a little joke to get her to eat something she doesn't like." He patted the cushion next to him. "Now put those bags down and sit. Her sanity is still intact."

She did put the bags down, but didn't move. "I don't know what to do with you sometimes."

"Ok, you want to see mental toughness? Ask Hiei how he handles his two that try to get out of eating something. My story of a demon eating her is less harsh than his story of 'The monstrosity of a neighbor will come and eat their souls in the middle of the night' don't you think? And their neighbor _is _a large demon."

"Well, I guess you're right."

"Exactly. Now get your ass over here and relax. I'm sure you want to chew my ear off with interesting stories of the day."

With a small smile, she complied, and proceeded to tell him all the highlights of the day.

* * *

"But I don't want to eat the potatoes Daddy!" Tsunada wailed. "They're nasty!"

Kiete had already learned by now to just eat what their dad heated up, and not make a fuss.

"Do you want me to go next door and tell Shenda that he'll have a nice tasty soul to eat tonight?" Hiei said, having had quite enough of his two hellions that day.

"No…" Tsunada squeaked out.

"Then eat what's in front of you."

Just then, the front door opened and Sha came in, dropping a few bags from her day out.

"Mommy, don't let Daddy tell Mr. Shenda I won't eat my potatoes!"

Sha visibly rolled her eyes. "He won't unless you don't eat."

Tsunada proceeded to eat in the same fashion as Reia, before darting into her room and closing the door.

"Funny how she's still falling for that," Kiete said before excusing himself to his own room.

Sha laughed. "Well at least one is eating without having the shit scared out of them. I hope they weren't too much for just you."

He arched a brow. "I grew up as a thief, around ruthless killers and rapists. I became a soldier, eventually. I think I can handle a few hours of pain-in-the-ass children."

"Mm, I think they get the pain-in-the-ass part from you."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."


	12. You Touch, You Die

Theme 44 and 45: Heaven and Hell  
Time: During "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: Hyouga and Salem mentioned, Sha and Hiei focused

This one will have two themes because I couldn't really pick just one out of my remaining list for the shot I have in my mind. Most of theme 44 will have to be posted on the adult fanfiction account. Yeah, that's right, I'm in a lemony mood. :P So without further delay, here's the next entry to "Of Life and Love".

* * *

**You Touch, You Die**

The nightlife was one thing that Sha and Hyouga loved about the city. And it was something they wasted no time in getting their fiancés into. Raves quickly became the top favorite of the four of them, what with the great variety of music and really welcoming people. They found an underground club that was known only by word of mouth that dealt with the main rule of the rave culture, PLUR. Although, some of the wrong crowd would slip in on some nights. Those that knew nothing of peace, love, unity, and respect.

The club itself played some other songs as well as the mixes made by the DJs that ruled the speakers on their respected nights. There were a few VIP rooms in the back that couples –or more- could to go to ease off the… tensions, built up by the dancing, while speakers in each of them allowed whoever used the rooms to keep enjoying the provided background noise.

Hiei and Salem, his shadow elemental friend from when he worked for Mukuro, sat at the bar, watching their fiancés dance with the music using their custom-made glowsticks, the LED lights in them making them glow brighter than normal. "Watching that always makes me feel lucky," Salem said, sipping on his drink as they cooled down from their own stringing.

"What part of it? When they show their flexibility," he nodded out to Sha, who was balancing herself while bent mostly backwards, twirling her sticks in her usual freehand style, "or when they just move?"

"Everything, really. I didn't know a culture like this existed in our world."

The current song faded into another, one that the girls decided to take a break on and come back to the guys. "Alright, I'm wiped for a few more minutes," Sha said with a laugh, turning her sticks off and putting them on the bar in front of her.

"Actually, I need to do a rest stop," Hyouga said, putting her own sticks in her pockets.

"Sure." Sha gave Hiei a quick kiss on the cheek and followed Hyouga to the bathroom. "Tonight's music isn't as fun as when the DJs are here, but it's still nice."

"Yeah. At least it's not 'bumping and grinding' crap that's most popular today. Seriously, the songs themselves take no talent at all to make, and the lyrics are just pulled out of thin air. Who wants to dance to 'Superman that ho' and not question its meaning?"

"You'd be surprised." They each took a stall as two barely dressed women came out of them. Sha hid a look of disgust as she entered, closing the door behind her. What she heard them talking about soon made her blood boil.

"Did you see that red-head spinning his glowstick thingy's around? That was really something with the speed he was going."

"I wasn't watching him, actually. I was more intrigued by the black-haired guy with him. Now _that_ was speed. Wonder what he's like in bed. Has to be mind blowing."

"Want to go find out?"

"Obviously."

Sha waited until the door to the restroom opened and closed once again before tearing out of the stall. She wasn't alone as Hyouga followed suit. "They better have been talking about someone else, or there _will_ be hell to pay."

Hyouga leaned over the sink to wash her hands, showing that her claws had lengthened and thickened into their killing state. "Give them a minute to target their potential prey. We can't assume anything right away. And mauling them down over a maybe wouldn't be helpful to us. Not now."

Sha blew a breath out of her nose, but followed suit in washing her own hands. "Not that I'm worried that the boys are that stupid, or really need a release like that, but for the fact those sluts are willing to try. That's what's pissing me off."

"Same with me." She made her claws shrink and weaken once more. "Shall we go see?"

Her head nodding stiffly, Sha followed the half dog demon back out into the club, and almost at once saw red. The women were in fact hitting on their guys, who didn't look comfortable in the slightest. "Hell hath no fury like a woman's jealousy unleashed, right?"

Hyouga merely nodded as they approached the bar, each tapping a woman on their shoulders.

They each turned around and wrinkled their noses. "Oh, the two… ladies from the bathroom," one said. She waved her hand in a shooing motion. "We're busy, if you can't see."

Sha held up her left hand, showing the deep red gem on her finger. "And if you can't see this, he's mine."

Hyouga followed suit, showing her own amethyst one. "So if you know what's good for you, you'll walk away and not look back. And we won't have to get messy."

The other sneered. "And how do we know those rings aren't fake?"

Sha looked at her nails with mock interest. "Oh I don't know…" Without warning, she gave a hard left hook to the woman's face, the ring causing the cheek to split and bleed on contact. "Feel real enough for you?"

Hyouga grinned at the other woman. "Want me to test the gem's value on your face as well?"

The other woman high-tailed it out of the club, her friend scrambling to her feet to follow her.

With a triumphant laugh, Sha looked back out at the masses, who had stopped to look on. When they saw the circumstances, they resumed their own things. There was no helping what happened to those who broke any of the four rules.

The next thing Sha knew, she was being pulled to the back of the club by a strong arm into one of the private rooms, the door slamming behind her. "What's this about now?" She looked at her future mate's eyes, seeing that they held an emotion she hadn't seen before, and couldn't label. "What's gotten into you?"

"What you just did, that's what." He put both his hands on either side of her head, effectively pinning her against the door. "I'd like to know what caused that."

"Territorial issues, I suppose…"

He gave an amused sniff. "I suppose so as well. But what triggered that?"

"Why, don't tell me you're mad at me for clocking some slut that was hitting on you?"

"Actually, quite the opposite, if you'd take the time to look downward." She did and her eyes widened.

"At something like that?"

"I'll tell you why if you tell me what caused you to lay her out flat. And not even with your dominant hand."

"Hyouga and I overheard them in the bathroom. They wanted to find out how your speed works in bed, if it's that impressive with your string-work." She ground her teeth at the memory. "So yes, it was territorial issues. I knew you wouldn't go with any offers they gave, but for the fact they were going to try."

"Understandable." The music gave way to a darker, more seductive beat, with a woman vocalizing in time with the rhythm. "Now the reason that's the way it is right now is because that was the hottest thing I've ever seen you do."

She flushed. "Don't go expecting it all the time."

"I wouldn't ask that of you." _'Christ is coming… and so am I. You would too if this sexy devil caught your eye.'_ "Even so, I won't be able to contain myself until we leave here, after that performance you gave." His hands ran up the thigh-high fishnet stockings, vanishing under the skirt she wore.

She smiled, showing a hint of fang. "Is that right?"

"You'll have to excuse the accommodations for now. I have no intentions of leaving here until both of us have obtained a heaven to replace the hell that has just occurred."

"No arguments here," she said, letting her neck fall to the side as he planted rough kisses to the exposed skin.

Neither knew, as they straightened their clothes a half hour later and returned to the club, their heavenly place in life was not too far away.


	13. Lessons in Life

Theme 41: Completion  
Time: Before the last chapter of "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: Hiei x Sha (sorry there's another one of these. This situation just called for theirs)

* * *

**Lessons in Life**

Hiei took a deep breath, staring at the stone door in front of him. _No other choice. It's the only way to get it back. _Steeling himself, he knocked on the stone barrier.

"Enter," the female voice answered from the other side. One that now made his skin crawl.

He pushed aside the barrier and entered her chambers. A place he hadn't been for months now. He would have rather stayed away, had it not been for his last remaining item. He looked at the woman in front of him, who was giving a smile of satisfaction.

"I knew your fantasy wouldn't last. Took six months, but look where you return."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't get your hopes up Mukuro. I wouldn't continue to wear this ring if the plans hadn't worked out. You know what I'm here for."

Her amused gaze turned to one of confusion. "I do not know. It could be a multitude of reasons. A nice conversation, a favor," her smile returned, "or self satisfaction, even."

"I'm well satiated these days in that area." He crossed his arms, mostly to keep them away from his sword. "You still wear it. I know you do."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking-"

He slammed a fist into the doorway, causing her to jump slightly. "God damn it, I'm sick of your games! My stone, I'm here to collect it." He narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll never have to cast my gaze upon you again."

Reluctantly, she reached into her clothing, pulling the hiruiseki stone out of them. "This is it then."

"What are you talking about?" He gradually entered her chambers, eyeing her warily.

"The idea and hope that you'd ever come back." She sadly removed the stone, gazing at it. "I didn't know you went through with marrying this new woman. It just seemed so sudden, and unexpected of you."

Hiei let a harsh breath from his nose. "Even so, I can't believe you held on to such hope. Did you not see how you treated me over those two years? A soldier in your army. That was it, professionally and publicly. Behind these doors and in private, it wasn't anything differ-"

"That isn't true!" She stood, clenching the stone in her fist. "You were treated differently, above anyone else that still works in this domain. Given access to these chambers. What do you think I thought you as, to give you such things?"

"A soldier with benefits. If the benefits were even dealt out. I wasn't finished speaking, either. Behind these doors, you'd give me the cold shoulder. A pitiful excuse of an intimate life. Nothing more." His gaze grew cold. "When I left, I considered being alone again for a long time. I wasn't frustrated or confused when alone, and I damn well wasn't unsatisfied with what I could do for myself. And yet… the fates favored me that day. I still don't know why, and I still question it. I found the woman who is truly my other half, the one that completes the hellhole I called life." He crossed his arms once more. "I wasn't going to let that go so easily."

Mukuro glared. "And yet you'd cast aside everything I had done for you?"

He couldn't help himself; he actually laughed at her outburst. "What did you do for me apart from keep me alive? You gave my executioner a second chance as well. You gave me no sexual satisfaction, and you gave me nothing that could be considered the least bit compassionate, let alone loving. Isn't that what our situation was supposed to call for?"

She couldn't retort at all. Nothing else came to mind. "Two years, over two days."

He rolled his eyes. "Get over it. I'm sure there's some other soldier in your ranks that you can take to your bed, and treat just as equally as a dog." He mulled over what he said. "Hell I have a dog now, and I don't even treat the beast with such a lack of compassion. And I sure as hell won't teach my coming son the same."

This made her attention snap back to reality. "She's… pregnant?"

"Two months in."

"How can that be? You'd have to want it for it to work." She got her answer by his look. "You actually… wanted offspring?"

"Look at how old I am, of course I did. It's long past the time I could have started. Another thing that I am able to do in my current situation."

She took a last look at the stone. "So that's it then. Your life is pretty much complete."

He narrowed his eyes. "Pretty much?"

She held the stone out for him, giving a pained smile. "This should belong to the one you love, so says the lore of the hiruiseki stones. That, or to the offspring they were shed for. This does not belong in my possession any longer."

He took it, welcoming its presence he had long since forgotten. "I thank you for not putting up a rougher fight."

"I can see when I am bested." Her smile grew weaker. "I was not bred or raised to understand love, or the desire to mate and reproduce. This woman of yours… she is better suited for you than I ever was. If she could teach you and give you what I could not in such a short time, she is the one deserving of your mother's stone."

Nodding, he moved to turn around, stopping in the doorway before leaving completely. "You will find another chance. Someday. Just as I was taught, you will learn what love really is, one day." With that, he left without another word, leaving her behind one final time.

* * *

Hours later, well into the night, he held on fast to his wife, running a thumb over her bared and slightly protruding belly. Sha hadn't started showing completely; more-so it just looked like her already slight noticeable pudge was growing. "I actually have something for you."

"Mm, no more dirty things tonight _Shinamai_…"

"Don't forget, I don't know many dracish words."

She laughed softly. "It's an endearment. The feminine version of love, though when used as a noun. Calling someone Love, for a female, is _Shinamai._"

"What about males?"

"_Shiname_."

"And how would one say 'I love you'?"

"_Zai'ito_, to which the response would also be _zai'itota_, or 'I love you too'."

"Then, _zai'ito, Shiname_." He nuzzled her neck, smiling slightly at the feel of his mark resting there.

"Ha, that wasn't in the least bit sneaky." She snuggled up against his naked flesh as close as she could. "_Da, zai'itota, ion'mio._"

He frowned. "Now that's not fair, I don't know what you said."

"Nothing you need to learn right away. So what is this thing you have for me? And if you make it dirty I swear you'll regret it."

He heard the playfulness edged in her threat. "It's not this time, I swear." He sat up and reached around in the dark for the drawer to the table on his side, managing to smack it hard into a corner. "Ah, damn it! Here we go." He felt around for the gem, and carefully held it in his grasp. "Though this might work better in the light."

She fumbled around on her side, turning on the light. When she turned around, he held the stone out to her. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I had to go see her today. Just to get this back." He put the chain around her neck, moving back to see how it looked between her unclothed breasts. "My mother shed that when I was born. The hiruiseki stones are to go to the offspring, when they are old enough. Since I'm a special case, I'm giving it to you."

"I don't know what to say…" She held it up, looking at it in the light. "It's beautiful…"

_And much better looking on you,_ he wanted to say, but bit it back. "How do you say, 'My life is complete with you'?"

Curious, she furrowed her brow. _"Xia'mio ahn shetzae'ne ito._ Why do you ask?"

"Well excuse me for the atrocious accent, but _xia'mio ahn shetzae'ne ito; zai'ito, Shakaku._"

Tears stung her eyes as she let out a laugh, around a small lump starting in her throat. "It is atrocious, but it will come with time. _Di'shime_ will teach you what you want to learn."

"_Di'shime_?"

"It means 'your dragon'. _Di_ is dragon, in dracish. _Shime _is yours, and _mio_ is my."

He grinned. "Then I have a new pet name for you, other than _Shiname._ _Di'mio_ works just as well."

"It's more a possessive thing, used with mates. When the male is a bit domineering. Not rough or mean, nothing like that. Just when the female should feel protected by her mate." She flicked a smile. "Or when she should feel like a submissive, doing what her master says."

"_Di'mio_ works perfect then for what I have in mind now."

"I told you to not make it dirty!"

"Well, I can't help it." He pinned her down to the bed, careful not to put weight on her belly. "I'm a male, for one. And two… ah I can't be bothered to explain myself." He bit down on the mark on her neck, causing her to gasp and twitch. _In whatever language we speak, you will always be what completes me._


	14. Tears of Life

Theme 17: Tears  
Time: After "Pesadilla"  
Pairings: Kazuma and Yukina

* * *

**Tears of Life**

"You're almost there Yukina, she's crowning. Give a few more good pushes and you'll have your baby girl." The midwife switched to a more comfortable kneeling position before the stressed mother-to-be. "You're doing great."

Kazuma had taken the spot behind his wife, helping her stay up. Staying behind them helped a great deal more than just holding their hands as they writhed in pain. "Think of it, we'll be really getting our lives started with this. I love you, Yukina."

"I love you to-" She was cut off by the last big contraction, and a large hiruiseki stone fell from her eyes, falling to the sheets bunched up under her. Soon, her cries weren't the only in the room

"That's it! She's out!"

Yukina collapsed against Kazuma, too worn out from childbirth to hold herself up any longer. "Fuyuko." She gazed out the window, at the snowstorm whirling around the house. "Child of winter. Fuyuko."

The midwife cut the cord and wrapped the small newborn in a blanket, wiping the goo from her face. "Meet your mother, little one." She placed the child into her mother's arms, and she quieted almost instantly. Her muddy red eyes gazed intently on her parents, as if sizing them up.

Yukina smiled, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Fuyuko. I get to finally see you face to face. After all that pain, it's worth it to be able to hold you at last."

Kazuma's eyes dropped down to where the gem had fallen on the blankets. Carefully, he picked it up, not daring to put a scratch on the smooth surface. "This is different from the normal ones."

His wife took it from his grasp and held it to their child. "All koorimes shed a tear while giving birth. That tear goes to the child when they are old enough to wear it."

The midwife left them alone in the room, to look over their daughter. At long last, the tears of pain had given way to those of happiness. And of life.


	15. Moving On

Theme 4: Pain  
Time: After "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: None

* * *

**Moving On**

"I can at least hold one of them!" Sha protested, putting her hands on her pregnant hips, glaring at her mate who refused to let her carry more than her purse. And that was only because he wanted to avoid the odd glances it would create.

"Not until he pops out, I told you." Hiei avoided the swing she made at him with the purse and laughed. "Look, just be glad I came with you today." He shifted the few bags he had in his right hand.

Sha sighed. It wasn't really closing in on the due date, but she had wanted to get at least a few things out of the way before it got too late for her to want to walk long distances. So, with much coaxing, she managed to get her husband to agree to go out and help her. "Oh fine. Have it your way."

"I will." He glanced up ahead at the upcoming corner. "Will it make you happy if I get you ice cream? Nix the pickles request this time."

"Yeah, didn't understand where that craving came from. I don't even like pickles that much. Ice cream sounds great." They turned the corner to go to the entrance door, when Hiei stopped suddenly. "Shinamai? Is something wrong?" She looked ahead to what he was glaring at, and saw an orange-haired woman sitting at one of the tables, calmly finishing her coffee and reading a book. When the woman looked in their direction as they appeared, she sent the glare back.

"Hiei," she said stiffly. "Fancy meeting you here."

"What are you doing here?" he answered.

"I was under the impression it was a free city. If it bothers you so much, I was almost ready to leave anyway." She moved to get up.

"Wait," Sha said. "You don't have to leave because of us." She had a hunch of who it could be, and this was her chance to break up the ice that had been developing the past year. She turned to Hiei. "You know what one I like. Can you go in and get it?"

"_Fa'net shi?_"

"_Nui. Za heneu xien._" When he stayed put she said, "_Za geb'xi meiýen er na'iosa._"

"If you're sure." Without another word, he went into the shop, leaving the bags next to the table with Sha.

"He's learning your language?" Mukuro asked.

Sha nodded. "He's been insisting on learning it." She carefully sat down in the chair before the former Lady. "I'm assuming you're Mukuro?"

"How could you guess?"

"Just a hunch. He's not one to strike out at many like that unless he has a reason to."

Mukuro glared. "If this will become something of boasting-"

"No, nothing of the sort. He's spoken briefly about you, but nothing good I'm afraid. I've been wanting to meet you myself, actually." She glanced down at the book Mukuro had been reading. "You're a King fan?"

"Not really. It was said this one was supposed to be good. So far, I'm not seeing how." She gazed at Sha's distending belly, below where she now wore the hiruiseki stone. "You're four months along now?"

"Yeah. He's started with the flutters recently." She rubbed her belly absentmindedly. "It's so strange, feeling him move about. Sometimes he'll get into little fits and kick like mad." She saw the woman give a sad smile. "I haven't said too much, have I?"

Mukuro shook her head. "You haven't. He's… been treating you well, I can see."

"Oh, yeah, he has. He tries his best to do what he can. He's working for Enki now, doing spare but well-paying jobs. Sometimes he's gone for a few days at a time, but it's usually no more than a week's absence." She glanced through the window and saw him trying to figure out how to put his wallet away while holding on to the ice cream. "It's really amazing how much he puts forth, just to make life easier."

"You're still working too, right?"

"Yeah, but I can't really do my detective duties in my current state. So for now I'm helping the other girls with the paperwork while they go do the cases." She jumped slightly, letting out a soft "oh" of surprise.

"Are you all right?"

Sha laughed. "I'm fine. Baby just decided it's time for another kick-boxing tournament." She looked at Mukuro, who was gazing at her belly with curiosity. "Would you like to feel?"

"Oh I wouldn't want to make you feel odd at all."

"It's not a problem at all." She got up and stood next to Mukuro, taking her hand and putting it where her son was kicking.

The former Lady's eyes softened. "I've never had the chance to feel that before. That's amazing…"

The bells on the shop door jingled as Hiei came back out. "Got the one you wanted."

Sha nodded and stepped back as Mukuro got up. She held on to her book. "You're a good woman, Shakaku. I wish you the best of luck through the rest of your pregnancy." She looked at Hiei and gave a smile to hide her pain. "Keep treating her well." With a final goodbye, she turned and left, leaving him with a confused stare.

"What did you say to her to make her not be a bitch?"

"I told you I wouldn't do anything stupid." She took the foamy bowl of ice cream from his hand and began to eat, sitting where Mukuro had just been prior. Their son's kicks instantly died down. "Ha, I think he likes this ice cream too. He was just kicking up a storm."

He wasn't to be deterred. "What did you say to her?"

"Answered her questions. That was it. I guess that's all she wanted. Let her feel the kicking."

He stared.

"What?"

"And she didn't try ripping your head off or snap at you?"

"Well she was going to, because she thought I was going to rub it in her face that we were married. But that wasn't my intentions, and once she knew that, she calmed down."

They fell into a small silence then, slowly finishing their ice cream. The pain would always be there, but with time, it would fade to an almost non-existent memory.

* * *

_Fa'net shi?_ _= are you sure?_

_Nui. Za heneu xien = Yes. I am certain._

_Za geb'xi meiýen er na'iosa = I won't do anything stupid._


	16. Healer

**Theme 23: Hands**  
**Time: During "Bonds of Life"**  
**Pairing: Hiei x Sha**

Before I do this, I'm sorry I'm using this pair a lot. I got this idea from a Rurouni Kenshin doujin by Yamaguchirou, and it just called for it. … /runs away

* * *

**Healer**

Hiei leaned against the side of their apartment building, catching his breath. "Dammit…" He pulled his hand away from his shoulder, seeing the red still flowing freely. "Tricky bastards." To make matters worse, the old wound across his stomach had started to bleed again. Add on his exhaustion of tracking the demons down for a day straight, and loss of blood during the fight, he was amazed he had gotten home.

Once he was able to push himself upright again, he went inside the lobby, quickly slipping into the elevator that would take him up to their shared space. _What foolishness. And to think of what I promised for when I came back._ He tried applying more pressure to the wound on his arm, but the blood still came. _Tch, typical._ He exited when the elevator came to his floor and pulled his key from his back pocket. _Please let it be dark and have her asleep. Don't let her see this…_

To his relief, it was dark, and considering no light came from their room, she was fast asleep too. Except for when…

Their corgi Shadow began barking loudly into the darkness, alerting her to the fact someone had come through the door.

"God damn it, Dog, shut it! It's me!" he said in a forceful whisper, flinching from the pressure it put on his stomach. "Fucking hell."

The dog gave one last quiet bark before settling back down on his pillow. To Hiei's relief, no noise came from the bedroom that said she had woken up. Trying to not drip onto the floors, he carefully entered the room and went to go get the bandages in the bathroom.

"Ah, so you're finally home."

He froze in the doorway of the bathroom, right as he was about to flick on the lights. He didn't let himself sound weakened. "Yeah, sorry it's so late." With his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see her quite well on the bed. He could see her even better as she knelt up and let the sheets fall, showing she had gone to bed with nothing on. _Dammit all to fucking hell._

"So, a promise is a promise. You said when you came home, the rest of the night you were mine." She curled her finger at him, and he had no choice but to go along with the act. Luckily, she couldn't see as well as he could at that point.

He dropped his sword on the floor next to the bed as he knelt next to her on it. "I know what I said but-"

"But nothing. You swore it."

"And I intend to fulfill by my promise. But not now." He didn't see it coming, when she flipped him onto his back and she sat atop his hips. He couldn't suppress the hiss that escaped past his lips.

This made her snap out of her act. "Is something wrong? Did you get hurt at all on this mission?" She placed a hand on his shoulder, but pulled it back when she touched something wet. "Hiei, answer me now. Did you get hurt?"

"Jus-Just a bit." He attempted a smile, to assure her he was alright, but a wave of pain enveloped him, unable to allow him that motion.

She scrambled out of bed and turned on the light, getting her first glance to the extent of his injuries. Her eyes widened. "How the hell did you even make it home?" She knelt by his side of the bed, tucking her hair behind her small pointed ears as she summoned healing energies to her hands. "It looks like you were stabbed through as they tried to take your arm off…"

"Correct theory. But they didn't make it further." He looked over at her and saw a tear fall down her face. "And what's with the tears? I'm all right now."

She turned to him, a vicious look on her face, one that would've made him move back if it weren't for his current situation. "_Se-ion ma'ay! _You idiot man! You could have died! How do you think I'd take that news in the morning?"

"But I didn't die. I'm fine now." He tried to reach out and touch her face but she smacked his hand away and got up.

"That isn't the point. Demon or not you could have been killed if they pulled that sword the other way. And don't you dare say 'But I didn't', it doesn't matter! You worry me half to death when you leave on these missions, and here we see the perfectly good reason why!"

He had been able to suppress his anger well recently. After finding the woman before him, he had very little reason to despise the worlds and their inhabitants. But now… He stood next to her. "I have been killing things and people for far longer than you have! Ever since I was a child I have been killing to survive! And need I remind you, I'm still twice your age!"

"It doesn't-"

"Yes it does matter, now shut up and listen to me!" He saw the shock in her eyes, and he calmed down a slight degree. "Sha, you should understand more than anyone else what it means to kill to survive. You should understand me better than anyone. You lived my life, for the most part. Your reasons for killing were different, and you stopped when you reached your goal, but still, you walked the same path I did. For a time." He sat down again. "My reasons are different now than it was back then, but it's still generally the same thing. I hunt down the wayward demons for us. Not just my own personal amusement, or something to keep me entertained. I don't know anything else apart from being a murderer; I wasn't taught anything else. I have no educational background, I know nothing about math or sciences. I only know the art of assassination." He looked up at her again. "And so if I can use that to help us out with getting our lives started, it's what I'll do. Risks of dying or not."

She smiled and moved to sit behind him on the bed, once more healing his leaking wounds. "I suppose I overreacted. You are doing this for our benefit. I just can't help but ask myself at times why I've fallen in love with such an idiot. I mean, I can't help you at all while you're gone. I can only wait."

He laughed. "You do help me. Much more than you know."

She stopped her healing to stare at her hand, now stained with his blood. "It's amazing that I can do what I can with these hands. For so long, they belonged to a cold-blooded killer. And now…"

He covered hers with his. "Mine are no different. I'd kill for just the fun of it. I had no set goal, as you did. It's even harder for me to believe I can do the things I do with you, with the same hands that killed countless over the many years I've been alive."

She smiled into his neck as she leaned forward, moving on to close the scars on his stomach back up. "We are two of a kind, huh?"

"It's an odd match, but it lasts, and will continue to last." He continued staring at his hands. "But with you by me, I have a purpose for what I do, and for that, I can become a stronger man to protect you… and a child, if that happens in the future."

"Ha, keep it in the present for now. We have Shadow, that's all we need in that sense for now." She pulled back, leaning over his good shoulder to look. "All right that should just about do it. Just no jumping jacks for awhile."

"Wasn't planning on it." He turned to face her once more. "So I'm assuming you want me to fulfill my promise still?"

She pretended to think it over. "Nah, we can hold off until you're healed. And when your stamina is back in full. You look exhausted."

He breathed a sigh of relief and fell against his pillow. "Gods, that's the best news I've heard all night." He held his hand up to block the pillow she threw at him from her side. "What?"

"Get some rest for now, okay? And don't come home like that again. You really scared me."

"I promise. Never again. You get some sleep too, we could both use it."

She nodded and turned off the main lights, plunging the room into darkness again. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard her say, "You didn't bleed all over the floor did you?"


	17. My World

**Theme 46: Sun**  
**Time: After "Pesadilla"**  
**Pairing: Kurama x Kitsu**

* * *

**My World**

The setting sun was just at the right point on the horizon. It gave the blossoms overhead a slight glimmer and shine that reflected in her eyes.

Though that could have just been him and his wild imagination taking flight with his nerves. Kurama reached into his jacket pocket and cupped the small suede box that lay dormant inside, convincing himself it was still there.

The two foxes sat on the riverside under a tree, watching the sun fall steadily behind the hill in front of them. Kitsu sighed in appreciation. "You don't see many sights like this in Demon World."

He smiled. "These trees cannot bloom for long there."

"Well that's not true. There's one by the arena that's still there. A massive one far larger than all of these put together."

Kurama looked away. "Fancy that then."

"I know it was you who grew it there."

"Out of desperation."

"Bull. Everyone knows that for the tree to grow that high, it would have to have been planted there at least a thousand years ago." She sighed again. "Ah whatever. Either way, you won't catch a sight like this in demon world."

"That's why you must learn to create your own world."

Her fox ears perked up. "My own world?"

"So you can enjoy things you like whenever you want."

"Oh…" She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on them, gazing up at the darkening sky. "I… I never really had much I liked. I suppose, the place in my mind that I liked to escape to — Oh nevermind."

"What is it?"

She took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. "When I escaped into my own mind, it was nothing. No color, no warmth, no light. Just… a void. I had nothing to base a world of my own off of. I didn't really know happiness. Innocent happiness, mind you. I didn't know warmth or colors. Didn't appreciate them enough." She took another breath, this one a bit shakier than before. "But now, I think I can reshape that little hideaway."

He gave her a warm smile and moved to sit behind her, pulling her back against his chest. "Mine was an empty void as well. Just I had the plants to keep me company. Though that changed."

"How so?"

"My world began to live." He looked ahead to the tree opposite their bank. "When it rained, I was sad too. When the moon shone bright, I was captivated by its seductive mysteries. When the ground quaked, I felt its pain. And when the sun shone bright… I fell in love with its warmth."

"Wow… how is your world so in depth? And so full of life?"

"That's an easy one." He reached into his pocket, hands steady, and pulled out the box to hold it in front of her. "That word is alive for others to see as well, but they do not understand it as I do. She only exists to them, while to me, she is life, and the sun." He opened the lid, hearing her small gasp of surprise. "The sun that lightens up my once dark world."

"Kurama? What—"

"I'd like for that sun to be with me. Always."

She turned in his lap, facing him, her ears pulled back in uncertainty. "You won't let go this time?"

"Not again. I will not make the same mistake twice."

Her ears perked once more as her smile returned. "Then yes. I will stay. And continue to be your source of light and warmth." She kissed him lightly once, twice, before they both made it into something more.

They didn't notice the quiet laughter on top of the road behind them as Yusuke and Keiko walked by with their daughter, enjoying the sight of the flowers themselves. "And so the last one settles down," he said as Keiko continued pushing the stroller with Reia nodding off in it.

"About time too." She looked at the time on her wrist. "Should be heading back soon. Reia needs to be put to bed."

"Yeah. Should leave those two to their privacy anyway." He put his arm around his wife as they left the two foxes alone.


	18. Secrets

Special thanks to the owner of Hyouga for giving me the idea for this one. :3

* * *

Theme 49: Hair  
Time: Right before "Happy Anniversary"  
Pairing: None

* * *

**Secrets**

"See now, that's what I hate!"

Kurama had stopped by the office to visit Kitsu for lunch, and ended up going with the other three girls as well. He went wide-eyed as Hyouga yelled at him.

"I've tried freaking everything on it, and nothing!" The ice-dog chewed on her straw angrily.

Kitsu just laughed while he tried to answer. "Well, er, it's really not as hard as it seems." He tensed slightly under Hyouga's gaze. "Really."

"Then tell me what I'm missing."

She rolled her eyes at her friend. "If you really want to know, I'm sure Kitsu would be happy to show you herself."

Kurama put his face in his palms as he imagined Hyouga going through his bathroom. "All right, I give already."

Kitsu laughed even harder at the situation, making Kurama stuff the top of her bread bowl in her mouth.

"It isn't that funny."

"Yes it is," Sukuna said. "You're acting like such a… man about it."

"Last I checked I was." He handed Kitsu her lemonade as she had trouble getting the bread unstuck from the roof of her mouth. "Anyway, the secret is—"

"Say 'Herbal Essences' and I'll hit you," Sha said while she ate her chicken soup from her own bread bowl.

"Wha— No! Look, the secret is just wash your hair every day and brush it out. Nothing more or less."

Hyouga looked to Kitsu, getting a confirmation nod. "That's it?"

"Please tell me you weren't thinking it'd involve a complex system of styling and perfumed soaps."

"Actually I was a bit. Now I know better."

He fought the urge to put his head on the table.

"Not getting ice lodged in your hair would probably help too," Sha said, ducking as Hyouga went to slap her upside the head. "I'm being honest!"

… _It's a wonder as to why I quit school and told Mother I would be moving far away._ He smiled despite himself, watching as the taller demon began chasing his dragon cousin around tables.

"Owowow not the tail!"

"Oh you're used to having it tugged on by now!"

"Bite me!"

"That's your mate's job!"

Kurama laughed at their antics and ran a hand through his hair. _She'll catch on to the tricks. Eventually._


	19. A Child's Curiosity

Theme 10: Ears  
Time: Three years after "Pesadialla"  
Pairing: None

* * *

**A Child's Curiosity**

Hyouga and Sha sat at Yusuke and Keiko's dining room table, sipping coffee and watching the children in the next room as they played with various things.

"So what did you tell him then?" Hyouga asked Keiko as she placed her now-empty cup down.

The human woman laughed. "That he'd be sleeping on the couch, of course. Pulling a stunt so childish would be such a bad example to Reia."

Sha had declined coffee and instead settled on a glass of lemonade. "Putting a bra in the freezer is a little childish, but it's not the worst thing he could do."

Hyouga rolled her eyes. "You just never have a reason to send your male to the couch."

"On the contrary. He does some stupid things at times, but nothing immature."

"So when's this one due?"

She choked on her lemonade a bit. "How the hell— ?" She cut herself off from coughing on a sour bit of the liquid hitting her throat wrong.

"I have two of my own demon spawn, no pun intended. Same as you. You declined caffeine. So, when is this one due?"

The dragon rubbed at her eyes. "That's not the reason I declined it. Trying to wean myself off caffeine just in case I do get pregnant again. The first time wasn't so bad, but the second." She rolled her eyes but smiled at her son, who was playing video games with Hyouga's son on the TV. "Well it's not so bad, the first pregnancy. You don't really have too many things to bother you."

"Yeah I hear you," Hyouga agreed. "The first pregnancy it's quiet, for the most part. The second one, you have the results of the first one to think about while you get fatter."

Keiko laughed once again. "I don't think I'll find that out first hand. One is quite enough of a handful." She looked over at Reia, who was giggling while Tsunada and Yuki were playing with stuffed animals.

Hyouga quirked a brow. "Human children are much easier to raise than demon ones. Teething, for one, is far simpler for you. A nice cold teething ring suffices. Your children don't grow fangs."

"Or wings and tails." Sha put her face in her hands. "Do you know how long it took us to get Kiete to stop flying out of reach? And to get Tsunada to stop knocking things over with her tail? It was a damn nightmare!"

"Not to mention keeping them away from the weapons in the house."

Sha audibly groaned and folded her arms over her head. "You don't have as many swords and knives sitting around as we do at home."

"Well you wouldn't if your mate would stop breaking his swords."

Her head snapped up. "Not his fault all the time. Most, but not all."

"You're no better either."

"Oh lay off you…" She held off on finishing her sentence as Reia came up to the table.

"Hey Mommy?" she said. "I have a question." Even though she was a little over two, she spoke quite well. Keiko had been an amazing teacher so far.

"What is it Sweetie?" Keiko helped the child up into her lap, where the youngling then stared across the table to the demons.

"Why do they have different ears than us? They're not normal."

Hyouga nearly spit her coffee back into the cup, and Sha looked a bit surprised.

"W-why do you say that?" Keiko tried to hide her shock.

"Tsunada's mommy has pointy ears, like her and her brother. She even has a _tail_. Tsunada has her mommy's tail, and her brother has those weird marks on his back, just like she does!" Reia then turned to Hyouga. "And _she's_ got doggy ears! So does Yuki, and her brother's got amber eyes while she has purple."

"Her awareness astounds me," Sha said, bewildered. "She's such a young human, but she can see all these things already."

Hyouga merely chuckled. "I expected nothing less from the child Yusuke would help bring into this world."

Reia wasn't to be thrown off her question. "Why are they different, Mommy?"

Keiko began stammering her explanation, trying to make it sound as believable as she should. "Well— ah, um. They are normal, to them that _is_ normal. What I mean to say is—"

"Is that we're demons," Sha said, rubbing small circles on her forehead. "You might as well say it bluntly."

The little girl looked at her oddly. "Like the ones Daddy would tell me stories about?"

Keiko looked a bit panicked, and also pissed off.

"It depends," Hyouga said with a kind smile. "What did your dad tell you about our kind?"

"He said there were a lot of demons, just like there's a lot of humans. A lot are good, and a lot are also bad. He told me about stories of when he was a de-de— What's that word Mommy?"

"Detective, Sweetie," Keiko supplied, her anger slowly fading.

"He told me about this funny guy named Chu, and another Jin. There were others, but I don't remember. He also told me about To-Togur—"

"Toguro?" Sha said, her eyes going a bit wide.

"Yeah, him. But he mostly talked about the good guys. And how they were all cool in their own way. And he said Jin had funny ears too!"

Sha snickered behind her hand. Jin had stopped by a few times, and he did have the oddest of ears. The more excited he was about a subject, or a fight, the pointier they got.

"Trust us, we're some of the good guys," Hyouga said. She looked Keiko. "You know, you should take her to see Puu one of these days. I think she'd get a kick out of riding that Spirit Beast of Yusuke's."

Reia slid off her mother's lap and moved over to Hyouga's chair, climbing into the half-dog's lap, surprising them all. "I want to make sure."

Hyouga caught on and lowered her head, allowing the little girl to tug on her small lavender dog ears poking from her head. She winced. "Ai! Ok, that really does hurt a bit!"

The girl pulled back, startled. "They're warm. And twitchy."

"Well yeah, what did you expect?" Hyouga rubbed a hand over the small-pointed appendages. "You've got quite an arm on you, little miss."

Still not entirely convinced, she moved on to Sha, tugging on her small pointed ears.

The half dragon only smiled. "Yes, she does have an arm. But the tugging isn't anything new to me. It's usually my tail to be tugged at anyway."

Reia looked at Sha's neck. "What's that mark?"

"Hm? Oh." She had forgotten that her hair had been pulled back, unlike Hyouga's so her marked neck was on full display. "Uh, something you'll learn about in the far future, I suspect." She chuckled nervously.

Seeming satisfied with all her answers, she skipped back off to play in the living room.

Keiko let out a big sigh. "Well, she had to learn eventually."

Hyouga still tugged at her own ears. "Yeah, well if she has anything else she wants to learn, let's make it less painful next time."


	20. Nightmare

Theme 16: Weakness  
Time: During "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: Hiei x Sha (sorry yet again. Been watching my DVDs, and a voice over for the preview of the one that shows Hiei's past made me think of this one. And he's just such a fun character to play around with ^^;)

* * *

**Nightmare**

"_He's a monster, cast him off the cloud."_

"_No! I won't let you kill my son!"_

"_When you seek your vengeance, I ask you to kill me first."_

"_I do not operate on just anyone."_

_A drill, a deafening sound of screams. Blood, lots of blood. And then utter darkness._

"_She killed herself not long after."_

"_He will never belong anywhere!"_

Hiei woke with a start, feeling a cold sweat start to envelop him. _The dreams again. The memories…_ He carefully sat up in his bed, not wanting to wake his bedmate for something as trivial as this. He was unsuccessful though, as he pulled his legs to his chest and rested his head on his knees.

"You were groaning in your sleep, in a painful way." Sha hadn't yet rolled onto her other side to look at him, and he was grateful for that. "Your own demons are catching up to you again, aren't they?"

"You know nothing of what I'm feeling, so don't even try to sympathize with me."

"Oh, you think so?"

"I know so." He got out of bed and left her room, feeling like he wasn't right where he was anymore.

"And where do you think you're going?" She lifted herself up on her elbows, looking out the open door to the living room, where he had disappeared in the dark. When she got no answer, she growled and cursed in Dracish. She pulled herself away from her pillows and straightened out the oversized T-shirt she had gone to bed in. He wasn't in the living room, when she went out to investigate, nor was he in the kitchen. That left only the balcony. She found him there, leaning against the cool steel bars.

"What do you want?"

She took a hesitant step back. She was used to hearing him lace his words with venom to other people, but not to her. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden? You were fine a few hours ago."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"If you don't talk about it, it will eventually eat you alive."

"It hasn't yet, so why should I care now?"

"Because I care, isn't that reason enough?"

He finally turned to look at her, seeing she had planted her hands on her hips and had a nasty look on her face, more than likely due to his words. "You won't understand."

"Try me."

He shook his head. "You know the beginning of the story. That's all you need to know."

"No, it's not. You put this damn ring on my finger for a reason. A few, really. One of those reasons is that you trust me." She stared him in the eye. "Am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong. But you still won't understand why I have these memories."

"You think that. Do you forget what I told you about my existence?"

"What about it?"

"I'm not supposed to exist. I was a child created out of sin and treachery. When I was old enough to understand it all, what the jeers were about, dragons executed my mother while my father was away, and cast me away from the Dragon Lands."

He looked back out at the streets lined with still-active demons.

"I was raised by a group of thieves that had another dragon of a different species with them, around my age. We pillaged and plundered, the older men raped and murdered, and we were happy. Then, after I mated with the other dragon, the others in the group started being plucked off. Until it was the two of us."

He closed his eyes, but still didn't say anything.

"He was killed too. I vowed then I wouldn't stop killing, until his murderer was slain. You have no idea how much blood has stained my hands, and how many souls have stained my own." Her intent gaze never wavered. "Still think I don't understand?"

"I was thinking and speaking out of anger. For that, I'm sorry." He allowed her to step closer, reveling in the feel of her putting her arms around his bared waist and having her weight against his back. "I hate being weak. I always have."

"No one enjoys feeling helpless. But you're not weak."

"I show signs of it." He heard her laugh through her nose slightly. "What's amusing about that?"

"We all show signs of faltering, at some point in time. At least once. When we dream, we're at our most vulnerable point. Barriers we erect during the day crumble, and things we hate to remember claim our attention."

"That still doesn't help me figure out how to not be weakened by them."

"You can't be, easy as that." She moved away to stand next to him. "Not if you let it keep eating you alive."

"What about you? Don't you have your weak moments?"

"I do. Though for one, no one is around to see it, and two, I've come to terms with most of my past so it doesn't harass me as often anymore."

"Come to terms…? That would help?" She nodded. "How?"

"By talking to someone, you dried up well of emotions." Sha placed a small punch to his arm, more playful that anything.

"You make it seem so easy. I have no one to talk to about it all."

"You forget who you share a bed with."

"All right, let me rephrase that: I have never had the desire to talk to anyone about it at all."

A small smile appeared on her face as she took hold of his arm lightly. "If you come back to bed with me and tell me everything, I'll be sure to make it up to you."

With his curiosity struck, he allowed her to lead him back inside, where he'd soon forget all about the nightmares that ruined his sleep for the night.


	21. Casserole

Theme 48: Childhood  
Time: After "Pesadilla"  
Pairing: None

* * *

**Casserole**

"But Mommy! I can't find my Spongebob doll!"

Sha rolled her eyes at her daughter as she pulled her casserole for tonight's dinner out of the oven. "Why is that stupid thing so important?"

"He's supposed to be Polly's date, and now he's gone!"

"Then just pretend that he stood her up and Polly's going stag. Would that work?"

"What's 'going stag'?"

"It means— oh go bother your brother, I'm almost done with this and Auntie Hyouga should be here any minute." As if by magic a knock came from the front door. Sha cursed in Dracish, since her kids weren't learning that right away, and put the hot bowl on the counter.

"Don't worry about it, I've got it," Hiei said, getting to the door before her.

"Oh good, can you also entertain the _shien-piets _while the women take their place in the kitchen?"

He arched a brow. "What have they been doing to earn the name 'Hell-spawn' from you?"

"Never mind it. Please?"

"Fine." He got the door to let the company in, and then ushered his two back into the living room to watch them. Salem joined him moments later with his own two kids, tossing a cold beer at him.

"Going insane yet?"

"Close to it. I don't know what she'd be like if both the kids still had to stay home during the day. Good thing Yusuke helped get those schools built. "

Salem nodded. "Tell me about it. Though what are we both going to do when the oldest come home with math homework and ask for help?"

Hiei scoffed. "Hell if I know. Give him a good luck and keep doing what I'm doing."

Out of nowhere Sha started yelling from the kitchen. "Who put Spongebob in the casserole!"

Kiete automatically got up to run to his room but Hiei grabbed him by the back of the shirt. "Oh c'mon Dad!"

"What the hell did you do that for?" He glared at his son, who instantly balked.

"I thought it would be funny."

Tsunada came running from the kitchen, screaming and crying. "You killed Spongebob! Look at him!" Her plastic toy had contorted in the oven, still covered by a bit of green beans and pasta. "You killed him!"

* * *

A half hour later they sat at the dining room table, Kiete sniffling from both the whap he had gotten upside the head, and the fact his wings had been restricted by his mother. Tsunada had instantly gotten over her toy being melted as soon as her brother had been reprimanded and sat happily at the table next to Yuki.

Sha rubbed at her forehead. "Why did we breed again?"

"Apparently some point down the line we thought they'd be a good idea," Hiei answered.

Hyouga just laughed. "Well at least it was better than last week's dinner."

"Yeah, kids will be kids," Salem added in, "so it's best if they learn young."

"You have to remember that we had slightly different childhoods," Sha said. "This isn't normal behavior to us."

"Exactly," Hyouga said. "What you have to realize is our generation, and the generations prior, we all had it damn rough. Kill or be killed. Learn to survive or you're dead. This generation doesn't know how lucky they are. They've got schools now, good jobs, warm homes, a bed to come home to." She glanced over at the little table the kids sat at. "I don't know about you, but I'm glad I had my pups."

"I am glad. They just piss me off royally at times."

Hyouga smiled. "I'm sure you pissed your father off more times than he can count. It's in children's nature to misbehave. They'll grow out of it."

Sha was about to say something more, when a glob of potatoes on fire whooshed past her onto the wall. "Tsunada! Start running!"


	22. Phones

Wee 1,000 hits so far! :D Hope everyone's liking these.

* * *

Theme 9: Telephone  
Time: A month after "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: None

**Phones**

Sha sat in the lunch room at the Gate, a bored look on her face as she held her head on an arm and listened to Botan and one of her other reaper friends chat away. Sha couldn't remember her name, and by then honestly didn't care. The way she took her job, and the way she talked, just plain irritated her.

"And then she said that he said, totally serious, that he was told by someone else's uncle that there was a bus full of football players that was destined to crash! So you know I had to take that job!" the other reaper said in her slight Australian accent.

Sha sighed and ate some more of her salad. While she had always eaten healthy, she was still adapting to her new pregnancy diet.

"So Sha, I bet you have some juicy gossip to share!" the girl said.

"Not exactly."

The girl frowned. "You're sounding more and more like your husband every day!"

Sha merely shrugged as an answer. "And you're sounding more and more like a telephone every day."

Botan stifled a laugh behind her hand. "Now, now. Why are we throwing such accusations around? This is fun time for us."

"Speak for yourself," Sha muttered.

The other ferry girl sputtered. "Now wait just a minute, how am I like a telephone?"

"You never heard of the game 'telephone'?" She took a sip of her juice, longing for her old lunch-time soda. "People stand in a line, doesn't matter much on the amount of bodies. A person on one end of the line says something, and so that information is passed down the line. The last person says it out loud. It's amazing how different the outcome will be."

"So you're saying my information isn't accurate?"

"What I'm saying," Sha said, rising to her feet, though that didn't give her much more height, "is that some things are better left unsaid if it came from that many people. It gets highly irritating."

The other girl left in a huff, too flustered to say anything more.

Botan laughed, waving her hand. "Either his mannerisms are rubbing off on you, or it's your hormones jumbling around."

Sha sighed and sat down once more. "Both possibly. Being knocked up sucks, don't ever do it."

The girl just smiled. "So does she really sound like a solo telephone game?"

"You really need to ask?" She paused. "A solo telephone, chain e-mail, and infomercial that walks. That about sums it up."

"I try to not take notice. But do you have any gossip?"

Sha grinned. "Of course, but none that anyone outside the office circle gets to hear."

They both looked up as Silvia, the girls' office assistant, came in with her cordless pressed to her shoulder. "Sha, you've got a phone call from your father. Something about babies."

Sha growled and put her face in her hands. "No baby talk! My father's been waiting too long for a grandkid and now won't butt out."

"It's the second time he's called. The first time I told him you were down the street gathering your lunch, since you really were."

"Oh give me the damn phone then."

Silvia did, holding back her laughter.

"Dad?" She went silent for a moment as her father said something in Dracish on the other end. _Papa, TIEN! … An-oiet—_" She growled again. _"Papa, xieaz bietona. …_Look I'll call you when I go home! This isn't office appropriate right now. … No the kid hasn't started kicking yet! I'll call you when I go home I said. _Wientan._" She hit the end button and let her head fall in frustration on the table. "I hate phones…"

* * *

Papa, TIEN = Papa, NO!

An-oiet— = But I—

Papa, xieaz bietona = Papa, that is not appropriate

Wientan = Goodbye


	23. Can You Say Awkward?

Theme 40: Innocence  
Time: A year after "Pesadilla"  
Pairing: None

* * *

**Can You Say Awkward?**

"Oh come on, what's the big deal?" Yusuke hollered at his three friends. He had purposefully dragged them out for a guy's night out, just to get them out of their homes. And for the fact they hadn't had any "chill time" in ages due to children being thrown into the mix.

"You know what kind of store this is, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled back, while Hiei looked at one of the display mannequins in the window with a mix of surprise and disgust. Kurama just smiled nervously.

Yusuke growled at them, a small red hue on his cheeks showing from the "one-too-many" beers he had ingested at the bar two doors down. He jabbed his thumb at the door behind him. "You can rush into demon-infested situations, you can slaughter things at will, but you can't set foot into a porn store?

Kuwabara looked shocked at the words. "The place is called an Adult Novelty Store, for your information wise-guy, and why would we want to go in there?"

Yusuke looked at the two demons, then back at Kuwabara, and yelled in frustration. "You all are such pussies!" He let out a hiccup. "'The hell happened to you all since you got hitched?"

"Well you see," Kurama said with a sweatdrop, "we never had much of a point to come into one of these before."

"That's right!" Kuwabara agreed. "We all have modest wives here, who take no interest in things like this." To this Hiei snorted. "Well except for the half-pint."

Yusuke's shoulders sagged. "This crap practically is an everyday sight. We have vending machines for sex toys for crying out loud! And you don't want to go into here?"

"That's something completely different and you know it. You can ignore a machine, going into one of the stores is like walking into a lion's den."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Would it kill you to shut your mouth about purity for a night?" Without another word he went into the store, calmly as you please.

They all looked after him in shock.

"Wasn't expecting him to do that," Kuwabara said.

Kurama smiled. "Always full of surprises."

Yusuke and Kurama followed his lead into the store, leaving a sputtering Kuwabara out on the sidewalk. "Guys! You can't do this to me!" With a look both ways, he followed them in, grumbling under his breath. Without warning, he slammed into Kurama's back. "Hey sorry man, but why'd you—" He looked around the fox's head and saw why they had stopped.

Yusuke let out a loud laugh, gathering the attention of the few patrons in there. "Get a load of all the 'female friends' hanging up on the walls. Didn't know they made wall mounts for those things."

"'Female friends'?" Hiei asked. "They look like—"

"Penises, yeah. They're what chicks use when they don't have guys around. Or even when they do, depending on the situation." Yusuke looked at him oddly. "I thought you would've known that one."

"Seems Sha doesn't own one."

Yusuke grinned. "That you know of."

Hiei arched a brow. "Detective, if she did, I would've found it by now. It's been six years now."

"I suppose."

The man behind the counter called them over, asking to see their IDs. "Ah, all in working order. Feel free to ask if you have any questions."

"Urameshi, I'm not feeling really comfortable in here," Kuwabara whispered as they walked away and put their wallets out of sight once more.

"Oh cut the crap and have fun. We're here to laugh like the immature little brats we once were."

Kurama laughed at them. "Yes, I suppose it is something we should do. We are well past the age that the topic of sex should stop making us feel awkward. You three already have children running around."

"Hey check this out!" Yusuke took his hands from his jacket pockets and pointed to a strange contraption hanging from the ceiling. "It's one of those swings I've heard about."

"Seems pointless," Hiei said, looking at it questioningly. "What would you need something like this for? Are you humans that inflexible?"

Yusuke laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Some, yeah. Others are just… into weird and kinky things a lot would call taboo."

"Or just plain disgusting," Kuwabara added in with a face full of defeat.

"Something like…" Yusuke trailed off, looking around for an example. "Ah, something like this." He went to the next display shelf and picked up a long plastic string with the occasional bulging ball protruding on it. "Anal beads."

Kuwabara jumped away. "Yeah, nasty things like that!"

Kurama shrugged. "Some people find it stimulating." They all looked at him and he waved his arms in front of him. "Not either of us on my end, no. Just saying some people find odd things pleasant."

"What about being bound?" Hiei asked.

Yusuke grinned again. "What, has Sha tied you up at some point and you liked it?"

The fire demon growled. "I _will_ kill you."

"Ah, but you're not denying it!"

"It wasn't her doing the tying!" He yelled back, then slapped a hand to his forehead. "I don't know why I hang around you still."

Kuwabara stared. "So you are into weird stuff, I knew it!"

Without another word Hiei stalked off to another part of the store, leaving Yusuke and Kurama laughing, with Kuwabara still looking after him bewildered.

"What did I say?"

Kurama's laugh died down a bit. "I'm not sure really, considering it's fairly common for females to enjoy being tied up."

"You're telling me," Yusuke said, looking at the vast selection of restraints. "Look at how many different types there are!"

"I feel my innocence slowly leaving me," Kuwabara said solemnly. "Can we please just leave so I can go home to Yukina and Fuyuko?"

Yusuke glared at him. "Oh shut up and stop being a killjoy." He looked at the wall behind the human man. "By the way, care to catch a movie?"

He started laughing again until Kuwabara looked behind him, seeing the cover of a gay porno. He took a wide side-step away from it. "No, thank you, I'll pass."

Kurama bit at his fingernail as he tried stifling his laughter, but as he looked at another display shelf, his laughter cut abruptly. "Honestly, there's no need for something like that."

"Like what?" Yusuke followed his gaze and his eyes went wide. "Holy hell!" There was a small display of, ah, "female friends" hanging from the shelf, and the one that happened to catch their eye was one that had a _very_ large girth. "How the hell would that even fit?"

"Very carefully, I'd assume," Kurama answered, too at a loss for words.

"Guess the better question would be," Kuwabara said, "what girl would want something like that?"

Yusuke merely shrugged. "Girls with odd fetishes. Speaking of which…" He looked back over at the DVDs. VHS had recently started to dwindle down, and DVDs were emerging as top dog at a rapid pace. So of course, the porno industry was doing very well working off that. "Wonder if I could find one that I could trick Keiko into watching."

Kuwabara frowned. "You're going to soil her innocence too?"

"Oh shut up and loosen up. Even Kurama's enjoying himself, to a degree."

"I'll admit, it's mildly entertaining," Kurama answered. "Not that I'd ever buy anything in here"

"There you go," Yusuke said. "Now let go of your stupid morals and have fun." He scoffed. "Hate to see what you'd do if I dragged you into a strip bar."

"Easy," Hiei said, taking his hand out from under his jacket, as if he'd been putting something away, "he'd bitch and whine the entire time like always."

Kuwabara instantly seethed. "Oh, and what would _you_ do in that situation?"

Hiei shrugged. "Nothing, since I wouldn't be in that situation."

Yusuke laughed vigorously. "Yeah, since Sha would whup your ass around the world if she found out."

"No, for the sole fact I see no point to them."

Kurama smiled. "And for the point Yusuke made."

"Believe what you wish." He headed for the exit.

"Hey, where are you going?" Yusuke asked.

"Back home." Just as he reached out for the door handle, the thing he had be putting into the jacket fell out and onto the floor, revealing a plastic bag.

The three stared at him for a second before they all burst out into hysterics.

"Laugh it up, wiseasses." Hiei muttered, retrieving the bag and leaving the store. The others quickly followed him out and Yusuke took the bag from his grasp. "Don't try my patience!"

"Or what? You left your sword at home as you promised, and you wouldn't dare char my ass in public!" He pulled out some black lacey material and tossed it over Hiei's head to Kurama. "Is that what I think it is?"

Kurama caught it and he looked at it in surprise. "I believe so." He tossed it over to Kuwabara, who surprisingly also caught it. "It looks like a female's negligee."

"Ooh lala!" Kuwabara chortled. "She dresses up for you? How cute." He tossed it back towards Yusuke, only to have it intercepted by Hiei.

"I should burn you all where you stand," he said, stuffing it back in the bag and leaving towards the subway to get to the portal by Yusuke's home.

"Oh we were only playing around," Kuwabara said. "You were the one to walk into that store first."

"Yeah, it's cool that she does that for you," Yusuke said. "I don't get stuff like that hardly ever. Only for anniversaries, Valentine's Day, stuff like that."

Kuwabara frowned. "I don't even get that."

Hiei felt both a twinge of anger and satisfaction from his words. It had taken time to get over it, but he now just ignored the fact Kuwabara was his brother-in-law. In secret from the couple still.

Yusuke looked to Kurama as they went down the subway station's stairs. "What about you, Kurama? Does Kitsu do anything sexy for you?"

"Sometimes. Once a month or so."

"Once a month? You lucky fox! What about you, Hiei?"

"I'd prefer to not discuss my sex life if I can help it."

"Oh c'mon, we all shared!" They got on the train that had arrived to head back to Yusuke's place, where both a portal to Demon World was nearby, and where the other two's cars were currently parked. "Not like we're asking you to go into detail about the obviously angry sex you two have."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone think it's always angry?"

Kurama blinked. "Do you really have to ask that question?"

Seeing no alternative, he growled. "Fine. … She does either once a week or once every other week."

Yusuke groaned in frustration. "I'm falling behind! I'm lucky if I get sex that often."

Kuwabara frowned again. "I'm even less lucky than that."

"Looks like you have us beat," Kurama said with a smile.

"Explains why he's always less on edge with everyone."

"That won't stop me from killing you," Hiei answered, crossing his arms as the train sped through the tunnel.

They went silent for awhile, swaying with the movement of their car. As the train slowed down for their stop, Yusuke grinned. "Does she role-play with you?"

"Don't push your luck." As soon as the doors opened, Hiei disappeared, presumably to the portal that would lead him back home.

"Suppose it was worth having the rest of my innocence shattered for that end result," Kuwabara said with a grin.

"Yeah, who would've known that they did that?" Yusuke asked, though Kurama raised his hand. "Seriously? How the hell did you know?"

Kurama smirked. "It seems my and his woman have looser tongues on the subject, and so tell stories. We in turn hear those stories."

Kuwabara stared. "Yeah, last remaining shred of innocence is gone."

"Oh good, then you've finally become a man after all this time since your daughter was born," Yusuke said, avoiding the fist his friend swung at him. "Go home and get some sleep. Your dignity will return in the morning."

"Yeah I suppose so."

They said their good nights as they reached Yusuke's home, and departed for their own. Though none of the four males ended up getting much sleep that night as they returned to their respective homes.


	24. Concentration

Theme 37: Technology  
Time: During "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: None

(a/n): I admit, I made a dirty version of this chapter. For it, you need to go find it on AdultFanFiction. :P

* * *

**Concentration**

"Bam, headshot!" Yusuke yelled into the microphone situated in front of him on the computer desk.

"How the heck d'you keep doing that, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled in frustration, pushing aside his mouse as he entered spectator view and pulled off his headphones. He had lugged over his own desktop and set it up in Yusuke's living room, much to the disapproval of Keiko. She decided to stay out of the way of the two men and their LAN party, and so went over to one of her friend's houses for the night.

"It helps when your spirit weapon is a gun," Yusuke replied, holding his right index finger up before returning to their game. "Now where the hell are you guys?"

Kurama laughed through the headphones Yusuke still had on. "As we're on opposite teams, it doesn't seem very fair to let you know where I am, now does it?"

They had figured out a way to connect the internet of Human World and Demon World through a very secure system. Koenma had to pull a lot of strings, as well as Enki, to get the connection up and running, but it was a very small baby-step towards the unification they wanted to accomplish, one day. Only special cases knew who they were talking to, and demons were forbidden to let on who and what they really were on their side of the connection.

Then one day, Yusuke came across a really popular first-person shooter game called Counter Strike. He immediately introduced his three friends to it, and they had been playing it once a week for a month. It hadn't taken long to get a decent setup going, what with obtaining microphones and headphones, and Yusuke wound up ganging up on them every single time.

"Oh come on, you guys always make this a challenge for me. I can always find Kuwabara so easily," Yusuke said, carefully moving around.

A chuckle came from Hiei's end right as Kuwabara put the headphones back on. "That's because the oaf thinks hiding behind crates will work. That if he can't see you, you can't see him."

"Oh bite my ankle!" Kuwabara yelled into the microphone. "No matter where I hide he finds me."

"That's because you're always in plain sight, idiot!"

"He's got you there," Yusuke responded, following after a bit of movement that appeared on his screen.

Kuwabara grumbling and took the headphones back off. "Heating up some snacks, you want anything?"

"Yeah, get me some of those taquito things if we've still got them."

"Hark, is that a fattening Yusuke I hear?" a female voice said over one of the microphones.

"Hey Sha, what brings you into the conversation?" Yusuke saw Kurama's character dart around the corner, but didn't say anything to alert him. "I figured you'd be out."

"Well tonight a certain someone was supposed to discuss certain plans with me," she replied, putting emphasis on the certains.

"Later on tonight, I'm trying to concentrate now," Hiei responded through the same mic.

"Oh, is that right?"

"Yes and— what are you doing?"

"Keep playing and we'll see how well you can concentrate through this."

Yusuke was about to ask what was going on when Kurama's character came into sight, the name "Yoko" showing as he aimed and fired. "Headshot again!"

"Ah you caught me again," Kurama said. "That's the fifth time tonight."

"Coming after you now, Hiei, so you better prepare yourself!"

"Y-yeah, I'll get right on tha— ouch! Don't do that!"

"Do I even want to know what's going on over there?" Kurama asked. "And should I ask why your character isn't exactly moving like you usually do?"

"It's nothing."

Yusuke laughed into the microphone, drawing Kuwabara's attention. "Bullshit it's nothing! I bet I know what's going on."

"What am I missing?" Kuwabara said, piling some chips into a bowl.

"I think a certain someone is getting head while playing this game!"

"Yusuke, shut your mouth," Hiei's voice came in, though since Kuwabara wasn't by his headphones he didn't hear the response.

"No way!" Kuwabara said at the same time the fire demon yelled back. He rushed over and put the headphones back on. He pressed them up against his ears and listened for a second, before letting his hold go and laughing. "He totally is!"

"I will kill you," he snapped, right before Yusuke snipped his character in the face. "Dammit Yusuke!"

"Headshot again! I win the round!" Muffled voices came from the demon's mic, suggesting he covered it with his free hand. Yusuke strained to hear what was being said, but he could only pick up on a few things. He didn't have much more time to listen before the next round was set up. "Everyone ready to get whupped again?"

He heard two responses out of three, making Kuwabara chuckle. "I guess he's not good at multitasking."

"You talk too much," Hiei finally said, his voice steady again. "I think this round we should have friendly fire allowed."

"Oh, a free-for-all?" Yusuke said. "Hm, that might be interesting. All right, last one standing buys the next round when we go for beers." He turned the option so they could have their round. "And go!"


	25. What's in a Name?

Theme 11: Name  
Time: After "Bonds of Life"  
Pairing: None

* * *

**What's in a Name?**

Sha frowned at the TV as she sat in her living room alone. Well, not really alone. She absentmindedly rubbed at her very pregnant belly as her son decided it was time to become a kangaroo. "Yeah I know. It's gotta be boring in there," she said with a sigh, wincing slightly at a particularly hard kick to her innards. "Think it's lunchtime anyway, kiddo." She tried heaving herself up by leaning forward, but the belly got in her way. "Oh dammit all!"

A knock sounded from her door, making her curse out in Dracish.

With a few scoots, she pushed herself up from the couch and answered the door, seeing her father towering on the other side of the frame. "Oh, hi Papa."

Haraguroi smiled down at his daughter and held up a paper bag that he had rested on his hip. "Hey di'anot. I thought you'd like to share some lunch with me today, but I know you haven't been up for going out lately."

She rolled her eyes but let her father in. "More like I'm under house arrest." She plopped down on the couch as her father handed her a bowl of precooked noodles. "I can't take the portal to work without being sick all over myself. Hiei doesn't let me lift anything at all."

"Which is smart. You can't strain yourself," he said, pointing his fork at her for emphasis.

"Yeah but not letting me lift a few groceries?"

"He's nervous. All first-time fathers are. "

She puffed out her lower lip and put her bowl on her protruding belly. "Yeah I guess." Then she took in what she had done and started laughing. "Papa, I have a portable table!"

He smiled at her. "Yes, I remember your mother doing something similar when she was pregnant with you."

"Well at least he's giving me some sort of pro to all this." She craned her neck to better look at her belly. "You hear me in there? Stop your soccer match so Mommy can eat!"

"Bet that's odd to hear yourself say."

She resumed eating her lunch. "It's gradually sinking in. Hiei's having a rougher time imagining being called 'Daddy'." She slurped a noodle on accident and covered her mouth until she swallowed. "So since all of our friends, especially Yusuke, find this all hysterical, they haven't stopped calling him that for a full month now."

Haraguroi set down his now empty Styrofoam bowl and popped open a can of juice. "So what are you looking forward to doing after he comes out?"

Sha sucked on her fork in thought for a moment. "Hmm, I guess being able to see my toes. I've got no idea if my socks match right now."

He laughed through his nose. "Yes they do."

"Ah, private matters will go back to normal. Right now he's too afraid to do anything, thinking the baby will get hurt, yet these hormones are driving me nuts!" She laughed as her father shifted uncomfortably. "You asked, Papa."

"And now I'm regretting asking. What about a name?"

Sha bit her lip. "Nothing's really come to mind yet that fits. Everything anyone's come up with just doesn't seem to go."

Her father frowned. "Everything's in a name, you know that."

"Yes, which is why it's important to find one that suits him." She flinched at a particularly hard jab to her gut. "Ouch! That's another thing I'll look forward to. My insides have to be all bruised up. Sucks even more when he gets a batch of hiccups." She stared at her now-empty bowl. "We'll figure something out that suits the kid. Until now, he's just Kid, Kiddo, Baby, and whatever else comes in mind depending on my mood."

"Hm, something starting with Ki would be nice."

"Going off the Japanese or Dracish translation of it?"

"Dracish, of course. Strong-willed."

She rubbed at her jaw. "That may work. But we can't just call him Ki. What about the one for warrior? _Ete?_"

Haraguroi just grinned. "That's up to you. But I think I should head back to Ryukai before they notice I'm missing."

"Thanks for lunch and the help." She attempted to get up but her father stopped her.

"Don't worry about it, I know my way out." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and bid her good day. Just as he closed the front door behind him, he spotted Hiei who was coming down the hall, having just returned from a mission from Enki. "Ah, I was just leaving too. I'll see you formally some other day," Haraguroi smiled as he approached.

"Yes, I still have to see you about something at the end of the week," he replied.

"By the way, I think we've got a name narrowed down for your offspring."

"Oh? Nothing that means 'frolics through flowers' I hope."

Haraguroi laughed. "No, that would be highly inappropriate. Especially for a boy." He was about to walk away before he snapped his clawed fingers and turned around. "By the way, pregnant women can have sex up until her water breaks. You won't do any damage to the boy, so stop worrying."

The fire demon muttered something under his breath before entering his apartment, making his father-in-law laugh hard as he left the building.

He was still chuckling as he sat at his desk in Ryukai. "I think Kiete is a perfect name for their little warrior…"


	26. Anything

Theme 25: Devotion  
Pairings: Kuwabara x Yukina  
Time Setting: A year before Pesadilla

* * *

**Anything**

He'd suffer and slave away to do anything in his power to make sure she was happy. And by letting her do her midwife thing, she was happy. Her spirits were more lifted than they had been in the past, due to never succeeding in finding her brother. When she had been given the news to abandon her search, she found other ways to keep her going.

Now Yukina was a wife, and was still helping children be brought into the world. Even her friends had turned to her when it came time to deliver. She was devoted to something her heart was set on doing.

Her husband, however, fresh out of college, had landed a job he didn't like at all, but stuck to it, keeping his promise to always protect and support her. Kazuma was never a man to back down from his promises, and so gave all of his devotion to her. This hindered her happiness a bit, but she didn't bring it up for some time.

A few months after delivering Hyouga's second born, Yuki, Yukina brought up his work, asking how it had been going.

"All right, I suppose," he said, cracking his back and slouching further into their couch while he undid his tie. "Stressful when people want documents I'm only halfway through with typing."

She bit at her lip. "Kazuma, are you happy?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I know this isn't the dream job you've always wanted."

He smiled. "So long as it helps us, I'll do it. You're devoted to bringing life into this world, and I'm devoted to supporting what you want to do. I never had a dream job growing up; I was always too busy fighting demons with Yusuke to think about it. That's all I knew at the time and thought he'd always have the gigs as Spirit Detective. I was young and stupid, and thought the four of us would always do that gig." He pulled her into his lap, eliciting a small squeak from her. "Yusuke's still got his Odin stand, Kurama's studying botany, and Hiei's still killing. They're each doing something whether they like it or not, to support someone. Their devotion is to keep their loved ones happy, just like I do."

She smiled up at him and cupped his face. "You have grown up in the past few years."

He held on to her hand, feeling her wedding ring under his palm. "I had great teachers that showed me down the right paths. Friends and family and mentors. And you." He moved his face and kissed the inside of her hand. "I'd do anything for you."

"As would I."


	27. Mating Rituals

Theme 27: Blood  
Paring: Hiei x Sha  
Time Setting: After "Bonds of Life"

A/N: There will be two versions of the theme. The lemon one will be posted on my adultfanfiction page, and the other use will be posted on fanfiction. Trust me, I'd love to post the lemon on fanfiction, but I don't want to up the rating from T to M. So you have to do some snooping around to get to the hardcore mating that those two do. ;P

* * *

**Mating Rituals**

Life has many rituals, many ending in sex. Lions courted their lionesses and humped away all day in hopes of getting her pregnant. Certain birds would put shiny things in their nests to attract a mate. With the Bird of Paradise males danced for the females. Whatever the case, the males always did something to attract the female. In demons, it wasn't much different.

Oh sure, females could dress seductively for their males, but in the end, the men were the ones that needed to reel in their females every once in awhile. Demon rituals varied between breeds, and personalities. If one was pure of heart entirely, the mating would be easy-going and romantic when both partners where in the mood for loving. If one was of a darker heart, the mating would be rough and domineering.

One guess on which type the newlywed couple was.

They had sealed the bond on both ends, something unheard of and even unknown in that time period, while all their friends had their attentions elsewhere during their reception. From both intaking the other's blood, they unlocked quite a few secrets from each other, as well as a heightened level of pleasure. While on their honeymoon in Vegas, courtesy of Koenma and her father, they wasted no time in indulging in the darker aspects of their mated life.

For now they were getting off the trolley in front of the Bellagio, with Sha almost tripping on her thin heels. "Tell me again why I decided to wear these blasted things?" she asked her husband as he held her steady by her bared shoulders.

"You females find it amusing to torment yourself by looking good." He flashed a smile. "But it pays off well in the end." He took in her dress, one she had received as a gift from Kitsu and Kurama. The black silk material was tied around her neck, and slopped down her back to meet just under her tail joint. Slits on both sides started from her mid-thighs and ended around her ankles, where she was tugging at the straps that held her heels on securely. A red dragon was faded into the silk and wrapped around her form, the head of it resting on her shoulders. "Think this was one of the top gifts we received."

She scoffed and let her heel rest on the ground once more when she was sure she hadn't twisted her ankle. "You clean up rather well yourself," she said, nodding to the pinstripe button down shirt he had on, tucked into a pair of dress slacks that he had held up by one of his four belts. Yusuke had given him this one, though he swore Keiko was the one to pick it out. Sha looked out over the expanse of water, seeing people lining up. "Wonder what's got their attention?"

"No idea. So where is this place that your father said he had covered for us?"

She giggled. "_A Paris, mon amour._" She nodded to the other side of the strip. "We dine in Paris."

He stared for a second. "If you wanted to do Paris instead of Vegas, there's a portal to there in Gandara we could've taken."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh I know, but this is much more fun."

"And probably just as expensive. Are you sure he said he already had it covered?"

"Don't worry about it. He's a Lord; he can afford it." She wrapped her arms around his left one and led him across the street. "If he said he has this, then he does."

They took in the sights of the hotel for awhile, walking along the roads of a recreated Le Boulevard. Once in awhile Sha would point out some things in the shops, but other times they were just as content people-watching.

She nodded towards an elderly human couple, both dressed in floral pattern shirts, brightly colored shorts, and sandals with socks. "A human couple from Florida, no doubt."

"What makes you say that?"

"Oh, I forgot your detective group didn't get to travel much. You see that style a lot with tourists from there, or even around there." She watched as the couple held hands as they went into the casino area. "At least they have something going for them."

He looked around as well. "What was that game you and your friends played when you went out for the day?"

"Gay, straight, or related?"

"That's the one. What do you think about those two?"

She followed his gaze to two men leaving a set of elevators, both looking like they were trying far too hard to find women. "Straight, though possibly borderline gay if they can't find women tonight. What do you think?"

"Related. Brothers trying to have a good time."

"It's possible." She glanced at a clock over by the elevators. "Should we head up?"

"If you're done looking."

They took the elevator to the 11th floor, all the way up to the Eiffel Tower Restaurant.

"Do you have a reservation?" the greeter asked, obviously flushed from being busy that night.

"Um, sort of. We were told a Haraguroi Fanelia called in to cover for our bill. He's my father," she added in to halt any suspicions of foul play.

"Let me just check our records, Ma'am." She rustled through a few papers, finding the listings for that night. "You're all taken care of. We have record of where to bill whatever you order. No limit has been placed, but a special request on your seating has been made."

Sha rubbed at her arm nervously. "Knew he'd do that. No dumb private booths or rooms, I hope."

The greeter smiled. "No, but one that has a very unique view." She led them to a table right alongside the glass wall, giving them a view of the strip below, and the Bellagio lake across the street. "You'll see what he wanted you to see soon enough, I suspect." She bade them good night and returned to her podium.

"Well I can see all the lights of the city, but what's special about this spot?" she questioned while her husband looked at the menu that was on the table already.

He almost choked on the water that was in their wine glasses. "Sha, this food costs the same as three of my swords, and for one person alone. What in the hell is he thinking?"

She bit her lip and sipped on the water. "He wants us to have a good time."

"I could have a good time at the nearest dive as well." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "The man's already paid for everything for the wedding, and now this?"

"It's something he's been putting money aside for, for a very… _very_ long time now." She picked up her own menu, but hissed in surprise. "Damn stupid paper cuts!"

"But they're laminated."

"Fine, laminate-cuts." She looked at him curiously as he shut his eyes tightly and took a shaky breath. "What's wrong?"

"The scent of it. It's never bothered me this much before."

"Bothered how? You're a killer; the sight and scent of blood shouldn't make you queasy."

"It's not making me sick. The opposite, actually. It's probably making me react more now since we did the Life Bond only yesterday."

"Oh. Yeah, that would make sense." She sucked on the cut, making it seal up with her energy. While humans wouldn't see anything abnormal on her, obviously since she would've already made a commotion with her tail, they would notice that the blood wasn't exactly the right shade of red.

He bit back a groan at the sight. "That's not helping at all."

"Deal with it, it's almost closed. Tiny little thing."

* * *

The rest of the night went smoothly and without any more bloody incidents. It wasn't until twenty or so minutes after that, when Sha saw exactly why her father wanted them to sit where they were.

"Are you serious?" she said, staring across the street. The water show had started in the Bellagio's lake, giving them a sight they had never seen before. "It's beautiful…"

"It is, but it doesn't quite compare…"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but took a double take when she saw he wasn't looking at the water. "Don't tell me I'm bleeding again."

"Not just yet."

Their waiter came and took up their empty plates. "Is there anything else I can get you this evening?"

"We're all right," Hiei answered. "Anything else we'll be needing will be acquired elsewhere."

She looked at him curiously before it sunk in. "Oh, right. Yes, we'll be taking our leave. Thank you for a wonderful meal." She didn't get to say much more as she was ushered out by her increasingly impatient mate. "So what exactly do you have in mind?"

"Your little paper cut has had me thinking about what other effects our blood will do to each other. Can't very well see the results in a place like that."

"Seems to me like it's already having some sort of effect."

"It is. Because of it, don't expect me to go easy on you."

She smiled. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

The continuation to this is found on my adultfanfiction page. Since this site hates URLs, you can find my account there under the same name. Until next time…


	28. What Christmas is All About

Theme 39: Smile  
Pairing: Hiei x Sha (I swear I'll take a break from these two after, I have a Kurama x Kitsu one started, but just wanted to do this for Christmas).  
Time: After Bonds of Life

* * *

**What Christmas is All About**

Enki had brought many more things than schools, malls, and better job places. He also brought many human customs over, including holidays. Halloween had always been around, though it was always the demon version of Valentine's day. Christmas, however, was a fairly new custom, and there were a few demons that still didn't know what it was all about.

A few who had lived among humans for a time were well-learned in the area, and helped spread the holiday customs. TV specials were put on the few channels demons had available to them, and the shopping areas quickly caught up to speed.

There was still one demon, however, who didn't quite understand the whole "meaning of Christmas" that his wife occasionally mentioned while placing the wrapped parcels under the tree she had managed to find and decorate with odd little figures and glass balls and lights. None of his friends could really tell him either, apart from "If you don't get someone close to you a gift, you're considered a bad person. A stupid tradition, really" or "Christmas parties are the best!" or "You gotta be with your family for it". But none of them could tell him how the traditions really started. Like, where did that green Grinch character come from, and why did he hate the holiday so much? Or why did everyone hate that bald kid so much for getting such a puny tree? Or why do you have to doctorate everything in bright lights and tinsel? Or why everyone scrambled around to get someone that perfect gift, instead of questioning what they were even celebrating in the first place.

The whole thing continued to puzzle him, but he didn't get any chance to find an answer to his ponderings until the early morning of that confusing human holiday.

Hiei was woken up around midnight by a noise from the other room, but before he could move, his wife had already gotten up to silence their newborn son's cries. He debating on going back to sleep for awhile, seeing as it was still chilly in their room, but after a half hour, his curiosity won out. He got out of bed and pulled his pants on before going out into their living room, He had to stop short and smile to himself at the sight. The tree was on, giving a light glow to the room, and the TV was on, the beginning of Mickey's Christmas Carol playing. Sha laid on the couch with Kiete laying on her chest, wrapped in his blanket and sleeping peacefully once again.

She looked up at him and smiled back as the characters played out their lines. "What are you doing up?"

He tapped his forehead beneath his tousled hair. "My head isn't letting me sleep tonight."

"Come sit then and watch this with me. It's one of my favorites." She carefully moved her legs to let him sit and snuggled back down, still keeping their son securely against her form. She pulled his blanket around him more and placed a kiss to his black and white hair.

He took the blanket from the back of their couch and tossed it over the both of them.

"I'll tell you what Christmas is. It's just another work day," Scrooge said on the TV, making him dwell on his questions again.

"What is Christmas, anyway?" Hiei asked suddenly, not taking his eyes off the screen, watching Scrooge kick Donald out of his counting house.

Sha looked at him curiously. "This is our second Christmas together, and you're just now wondering this?"

"I didn't know last year, or the year prior, or even the year before that. Everyone tells me different things, but they don't seem to make sense."

She smiled a bit again. "No one really understands the true meaning anymore. Though maybe by the end of this you'll understand it a bit more."

"Kurama had said that if you don't get gifts for someone, you're considered a horrible person. Yusuke said it's all about the holiday parties. Kuwabara said it was about family."

"Hm, well they're all right, in their own way. But also wrong." She nudged his clothed leg with her bare foot. "Just watch this and let Walt Disney teach you a few things."

He rolled his eyes but did as she asked, only getting up once to hold his son while she took a bathroom break.

By the end of the movie, he still had questions, though a few had been answered.

"So what else don't you understand about it?" Sha asked after she put Kiete back in his room for the rest of the night.

"Where did all of this start?' he asked, gesturing to the gifts under the tree.

"It's a Christian holiday, really, but celebrated by near everyone. It's supposed to be the day they celebrate Jesus' birthday. You know that whole story I take it."

"I've heard of it, yeah. So the exchanging of gifts comes from the fact he was given gifts from the wise men?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"What about the colors, and the specific tree?"

"Red was supposed to signify Jesus' blood, and the green was supposed to represent eternal life." She nodded towards their tree. "Evergreens were just the perfect tree to use. Evergreen, eternal life. It fits."

"So then this whole thing isn't about gifts and spending all your money on useless trinkets?"

She laughed a bit. "Of course not. It's always the thought that counts. Unless you're dealing with a materialistic person. Unfortunately those are in abundance nowadays. It's more about the idea of giving."

He frowned. "But with giving, someone's always receiving."

"True, but giving doesn't always mean spending money. You can give time, food, love even." She nodded toward Kiete's room. "Life too."

He looked to the door, where his son lay behind it sleeping away the last few hours of Christmas morning, and he let another smile slip. "I think I'm starting to understand now. That it is about a lot of things, big and small."

She turned off the TV and put the blanket on the back of the couch again. "Let's try and get some more sleep before it's time to open gifts."

"Not like he'll remember his first Christmas." He paused. "Though I suppose it is the thought that counts."

"There, see, now you've got it." She squeaked in surprise as he took hold of her wrist and pulled her into his lap.

"I think I do. Merry Christmas, _di'mio_."

She laughed and kissed him. "Merry Christmas, _shinamai_."


	29. Happy Hunting

Theme 26: Forever

Paring: Kurama x Kitsu

Time: During "Bonds of Life"

Jeez, I really dunno what's wrong with me, but I'm just in the mood to write another lemon. So the same procedure will be given to this one as with the others. Uncut will be on adultfanfiction, and cut will be on fanfiction. Also, give some feedback on how I'm doing so far. :D

* * *

**Happy Hunting**

True to her word, Genkai had left her entire compound to each and every one of them, to use whenever they wanted, and for whenever they needed to hide away one of their own. For now, Yusuke had gathered them all for a four day vacation in the woods to get away from their work, and to just get away. It had taken a lot of persuasion to get a certain fire demon to spend a few days with them all, but he eventually caved after Sha found out about the idea. She had also wanted to meet his other old comrade and his girlfriend, since she hadn't had a chance yet.

So, a week after the plans were made, each of them arrived with a few bags and chose the rooms that they'd retreat to at the end of the day.

Or during the day, depending on the couple.

Towards the end of the day, after all the introductions were made, Keiko, Yusuke, Yukina, Kuwabara, Hiei, Sha, Kurama, Kitsu, Hyouga, Salem, and Sukuna sat around a bonfire on the beach behind the large home that used to belong to their favorite old lady. They talked and laughed with each other, throwing a few teasing comments here and there.

Once the sun was almost beneath the horizon line of the ocean, Yusuke stood and stretched. "I think now's the perfect time to play a little game."

Hiei arched a brow. "Don't you think we're all a little old for games, Yusuke?"

"Nah, not this one! The game's Manhunt, demons vs. humans!"

Sukuna looked around at their party. "Um, hate to break it to you, but we kinda outnumber you."

Yusuke took a second to look around. "Oh yeah." He put a hand to his chin. "All right, we'll make teams. Me and Kurama will each pick people, and my team will hunt."

"Yes but there's eleven of us," she further pointed out. "One team will be uneven."

He brushed it off. "Details. So, you guys in?"

Sha shrugged. "Sure, nothing better to do."

Kurama sighed and got up. "Who chooses first?"

"Go for it, Fox Boy."

"Kitsu then."

"Keiko."

"Sha."

"Kuwabara."

"Hiei."

"Yukina."

"Hyouga."

"Sukuna."

Salem looked around him as his friends moved to their respective group leaders. "Oh I see how it is. Last to be picked. I see how you guys care."

Kurama grinned. "Last doesn't always mean least."

"You're just sugar-coating it," Salem said with a sigh, but got up all the same.

Hyouga looked to Yusuke. "So what's the rule of this particular match?"

"No demonic sight or sense of smell allowed," he answered, as if he had thought this out. "And any area within half a mile diameter is allowed."

"Ooh, he used a big word," Sukuna said with a smirk. "You must be proud, Keiko."

The human girl smiled. "He tries."

Yusuke growled. "That's all I can think of. We'll go back up to the house and wait ten minutes for you guys to hide before we start to hunt." He looked to his group. "Sound reasonable?"

They all nodded and Yusuke led them back up the path to the temple.

Salem looked to Kurama. "I've never played this before. Do we stick together?"

Kurama shook his head. "It's not exactly wise. We should spread out. Take a buddy with you if you wish, or fly solo. They have an hour to find us. When that hour's up, or if they give up, they yell 'olly-olly-oxen-free'."

Sha snorted. "Who came up with that one?"

"Remember that it's a child's game, with childish rules. Children usually always give up before the hour's out."

"Yes, but Yusuke is persistent," Salem pointed out.

Kurama nodded. "So we play the game as he wants us to. We've got ten minutes to spread out along the compound, but try to not wander too far. There are still creatures out here that Genkai never shoed away."

They each separated their own ways, Sha and Hiei going one way, Hyogua and Salem another, and Kitsu followed Kurama, leaving Sukuna pondering over where she'd hide.

"I thought you'd go off on your own," he said to Kitsu, who merely smiled and tugged at her skirt, seeing stray sand still on it.

"What, am I not allowed to follow my boyfriend? Thought you could use the company if we're gonna be out here for an hour."

He smiled at her as well. "Yes I suppose so." He nodded in the direction they were heading. "I know of a dense patch of trees a little ways up we could hide in, if you can keep up."

"I may not be dressed for a romp in the wilderness, but I can still run."

"Keep me in your sight then." He broke out into a run, heading in the direction he wanted to go. He took a few sharp turns and leapt up a hill before stopping short, feeling her collide into his back with a grunt.

"Give a warning next time," she said, rubbing her nose.

He spread his arms out. "Welcome to my haven. No one's been able to find me yet here."

"Mm, yes, it's hard to find a fox that doesn't want to be found." She looked around, taking in all the plant life. "You have a few rarities here." She took a few cautious steps around, not wanting to disturb any plants. Grown by a demon, they'd have a life of their own, as well as their own will. She looked around until her gaze fell upon a bed of blue flowers that looked oddly familiar. "My water leaves?" She turned around to him. "Why would you grow these?"

He smiled, putting a hand in his jeans. "On a whim, I suppose. Look what flowers are nearby."

She did look, and saw a bed of roses not too far away, in its own space so it wouldn't harm the blue water leaves. Kitsu couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I suppose you think this is romantic."

"In a way." He was surprised as she came up to him and wrapped her arms around him, standing on tiptoe to kiss him. "I take it I succeeded?"

"Very much so." She ran a hand through his hair and pulled a rose from its confines. "I never understood why you kept them in such a vulnerable spot."

He merely smiled and reached down to her tail, taking a blue water leaf from the fur and holding it before her. "Nor have I understood why you'd keep it in your beautiful fur."

She blushed but hid her smile behind the rose, feeling the petals tickle her nose. "Easy to reach, for me at least."

"See, we have similar reasons."

"You just lack a tail most of the time to hide the seeds." Her smile grew mischievous. "Considering the only time you transform is when you're heading towards a peak of sexual satisfaction." She laughed as she saw him flush. "It's not bad."

He took the rose from her hand and pulled her hair to the side, keeping it out of her face with the flower. "No, but it'd be embarrassing if you'd let that information slip." He couldn't help it as his other hand pulled through her hair and traveled up to her ears, feeling for the soft fur that covered them. "I love you."

She narrowed her eyes and pulled back a bit. "What?"

"I love you, Kitsu." He ran his other hand down her back, resting on her tail. "I love everything about you. Your voice, your laugh, the feel of your skin and fur."

She hadn't expected that. The two had been dating for a good three months, ever since they met on the Collector case. All the while, she herself had been too afraid and proud to admit she had grown more than infatuated with the fox in front of her. "You really mean that?"

"I do, my little vixen."

She smiled and blushed, taking hold of his hand. "Are you sure you aren't a thief any longer?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You've stolen something of mine." She placed his hand over her chest. Though no heart beat there, he would still be able to feel her blood being pushed through by the stiller core of her being. "You've stolen my heart."

"Have I? And how long have I had it in my possession?"

"For awhile now." She pulled her ears back in uncertainty. "You're the first to hold it. It's still fragile, but there are no cracks in it."

He smiled and held her close, looking at the blue flower he still held in his fingers. "Then I'll make sure no cracks ever scratch the surface. I'll protect it forever."


	30. Learning

Theme 8: Happiness  
Pairing: Hiei and Sha, Yusuke and Keiko, Kurama and Kitsu, Kuwabara and Yukina  
Time Setting: Two weeks after Pesadilla

* * *

**Learning**

Considering the amount of physical and mental stress the recent tournament placed upon his team, and ex-team, Koenma personally financed a trip to a five star beach resort in Okinawa for everyone. He even allowed Haraguroi to attend to play babysitter. Haraguroi, a man who loved his grandkids as it was, had eventually taken on the other's children as grandkids of his own.

Sha sighed and held on to her son's shoulders to keep him from wandering away. "Stop fidgeting."

"Aw but Mom! You know I wanted to go with Dad today."

"Yeah, well you get Grandpa instead. Dad needs a break; that's why we're here." She adjusted the top of her swimsuit as she sat on a lounge chair next to her daughter, who was content in playing with a stuffed bear. She watched the bustle of the other resort-goers while she waited for Hyouga to come downstairs with her own two pups.

"Hey, Dragon, where's your father?"

Sha looked over her shoulder to see Hyouga ushering her son and daughter off an elevator towards her. "Guess he's coming down. Wasn't Keiko supposed to come down with you?"

Hyouga rolled her eyes and set her pool stuff down next to Sha's on the lounge chair next to them. She put a hand on her daughter Yuki's head as she tried wandering away. "Yeah, I tried picking her up, but she didn't want to come out of her and Yusuke's room. Something about her preggo belly looking horrible in her new bikini."

Sha sighed. "Humans and their self consciousness. I was still wearing this suit while I was pregnant."

Hyouga shrugged and sat Yuki on the chair next to her older brother Misou. "Guess it's understandable."

"Hell no it isn't. We're going to drag her down one way or another."

"Sorry I'm late," came a deep voice. The girls turned to see the seven foot tall dragon lord. "Slept in a bit late."

"It's all right, _Papa_," Sha said while her two cheered and flocked to their grandfather. "Still taking them to the aquarium, I hope?"

"Yeah. I'll find something to keep them busy all day." He looked to Hyouga. "Yuki and Misou have their swim stuff in case I take them down to the beach?"

"Oh, yeah." She handed him a bag. "Everything's in there." She knelt down and hugged her kids. "Have fun with Grandpa Hara. Don't harass him too much, you hear?"

"We will, Mom," the two chorused before joining Kiete and Tsunada in flocking the much older demon.

Haraguroi shrugged on the two bags containing the young ones' things and waved goodbye to the two mothers, ushering the kids in the direction of the aquarium.

Sha looked to Hyouga. "Right, time to drag Keiko out."

* * *

Hyouga slammed a fist a few times on the door to Yusuke and Keiko's room. "Come on, Keiko, come out!"

"No way!" the human girl said from behind the door. "This belly makes me look huge!"

Sha rolled her eyes. "As if you're the first female to have a child inside you. Get over yourself. You're only six months, which is nothing compared to Hyouga and I at six months."

"Well that's only because of the difference in gestation, but still, she's right," Hyouga said.

By then the other girls had emerged from their rooms on the same level.

Kitsu put her hands on her hips. "What's going on?"

Sha rolled her eyes and adjusted the black slip around her hips. "Keiko's too worried about her baby belly."

Yukina laughed behind her hand. "Oh, Keiko, we're not going to judge you. Pregnant bellies are beautiful things."

"Yeah, we're not going to say anything bad," Sukuna said.

They heard silence for a few seconds on the other side of the door before the latch clicked open and Keiko stood before them in all her pregnant glory.

"There, see, that's not so bad," Kitsu said with a reassuring smile.

"I feel fat," Keiko said with a sullen face.

"Well you are," Sukuna said. "Fat with a kid, you shouldn't be upset about that. Be proud you're helping with the population."

The human sighed in defeat. "Yeah, you're right. I'll get my stuff. But the first person to laugh at me gets a fist to the face."

Yukina giggled again. "Yusuke's given you a bit too much influence."

"Don't remind me." She grabbed her beach bag from next to the door and made sure the keycard was inside before maneuvering into the hall.

* * *

Sha gracelessly dropped her bag on a chair by the pool before stretching in contentment. Due to it being the off season, but still warm out weather, not too many people were there as it would have been a month prior, so it was nice and quiet out. Hyouga dropped her things in the chair next to her as Sha took off the slip around her hips and hung it on her chair.

"At least we came when no one's around," she said while Sha stretched out on her back on the chair.

"Mm, but there's something bothering me."

"What?"

"Where are the guys?"

Hyouga was about to answer when a chorus of yells erupted on the other side of the pool, and they looked up in time to see Yusuke, Salem, and Kuwabara leaping into the pool, effectively soaking them in the wave they created.

Sha stood up, dripping wet, and was about to scream at them until she saw a flash of black appear behind her and dumped her into the water. She let out a short shriek before she went under the surface.

Hyouga fell onto her chair laughing. "Hiei, she's going to kill you!"

He flashed a rare grin. "If she can catch me first."

She resurfaced and pulled her hair out of her face. "Very funny, you ass!"

Keiko and Yukina laughed from their corners of the pool, where they sat on the sides soaking their legs.

"Oh don't you two start laughing on me!"

"I'm just amazed you didn't start steaming as you hit the surface, Firebreath!" Kitsu said.

"That's it!" Sha hauled herself out of the water to chase after the vixen, only to be caught around the waist by her husband and chucked right back into the pool, although she didn't go down alone. She managed to grab on to his neck and brought him into the water right behind her. "So there," she said when they both resurfaced, sticking her tongue out.

Kitsu continued laughing, until she was chucked in as well by the missing red-head. "Damnit, Kurama!"

He laughed behind his hand. "Couldn't help myself."

She swam back over to the edge and leaned up on the side, resting her head on her arms. "Clever, sneaky fox."

He knelt down beside her, still on the concrete. "And what about it?"

"Nothing at all." Without warning, she latched her arms around his neck and pulled him into the water with her, soaking the white T-shirt he still had on.

"Kitsu! At least wait until it's off!"

"Sounds like something you said last night."

Kurama hid his blush as the others laughed at him by tossing the soaked garment out of the pool.

Sha smiled at the sight, though only her husband noticed. "Find something amusing?" he asked while the rest of their friends began interacting with the others.

"Not really amusing. More like… right." She squeaked a bit as he pulled her closer to him and made her wrap her legs around his waist so he could hold her up. "By the way, that'll have to go away before you get out of the water."

He shifted a bit under her to adjust the black trunks they had found for him. "Hush. And what seems right?"

She nodded towards Kurama and Kitsu, who were laughing and splashing water at each other before he pulled her under the water. "They do. Actually, I'm glad Jen walked out on him and he gave Kitsu another chance." She shrugged. "We never even figured out why he left her in the first place."

"It was a stupid reasoning."

"You knew and never said anything?"

"I couldn't. Wasn't my place."

She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Well what was his reasoning?"

"It started before I met you, while you were still running from the SDF. We were all fighting in the Demon World Tournament, me, him, and Yusuke. During his fight against Shigure, he cast off his demon self, not wanting to have to rely on who he once was. He wanted to forget his past." Hiei moved them so they were around a crook of the pool so they'd go unseen by their friends. "Then two years later, you guys appear, and he met Kitsu. Got to know her. And in doing so, he found out during their first… encounter, as he put it, he couldn't keep his demon self at bay."

"But why would he want to cast off who he was?"

"That's just it, he isn't Yoko anymore. You should know that better than anyone else, since he's your cousin."

"I was so young when I knew him." She nodded over his shoulder, where the others were. "Who we all see now is who I saw over two hundred and fifty years ago."

"Well, anyway, he didn't want to revert back to who he once was. The cold hearted thief that everyone knew him as. After two years passed with Kitsu, he confided with me that he was afraid he'd hurt her if he stayed with her, since more and more of his true nature would come out around her. He wanted to revert to who he was becoming, as a human, and so sought out a human at his biology schooling. He only wanted Kitsu to be happy."

"But that makes no sense."

He let out a soft laugh. "Not to a woman. To a man, who would give up his own happiness for his loved ones, it makes sense."

She gave him a coy smile. "Sounds like you know what you're talking about."

"I gave up a few things for you and the children. Became a better person for it."

Sha frowned. "Not to everyone else."

"Well of course. I'm still an asshole to them." He smirked. "I can be to you too, sometimes."

"Since when?"

As an answer he picked her up and chucked her into the water. Though when she didn't come back up for air, his nerves gave a shot. Until he felt something grab his ankle and drag him under as well.

They both came up at the same time and started laughing. She flipped her hair back. "Hey, I've got an idea on how you can make me happy right now."

"And what's that?"

She reached up and stroked where he kept his mated mark hidden on his neck, making him shiver. "I think you can figure it out."

* * *

Yusuke swam over to where Keiko was now sitting by herself, since Kuwabara had taken Yukina to one of the chairs to talk for awhile. "Hey, Beautiful."

She gave him a small smile. "Hey."

He frowned and hauled himself out of the water to sit by her. "What's with the long face?"

"It's nothing," she said, looking down into the water.

He laughed. "Yeah right. Every time you say it's nothing, it's obviously something. You're still too soft to show that you're upset over something. I know you too well."

A few feet away, the couple heard a few giggles. Keiko looked at the source from the corner of her eye and saw two skinny girls on the side of the pool, trying to hide their fingers that pointed at her.

Yusuke scoffed. "Immature little— Hey, where are you going?"

Keiko had carefully picked herself up and wandered over to the girls. "Think something's funny?" she said.

"Well yeah, pregnant girls shouldn't be in bikinis," one of them snickered, while the other started laughing again.

Keiko fumed. "For your information, I happen to be happy with the fact I have a loving husband and a child on the way. And I'm happy with my pregnancy enough to show it off. Excuse me that you two look like railings on a fence, and are obviously alone. I pity you."

The one who had snickered got up. "You want a piece of me, Preggo?"

"I'd break you in half."

"Time out!" Hyouga said, coming over to stand between them. "I don't want this vacation ending early." She glared at the girls, who as normal humans could only see her amber eyes out of her other demonic appearances. "Seriously, grow the fuck up and eat something. You look like you'll break in the breeze."

Yusuke came up and put his hands on Keiko's shoulders. "Come on, ignore them." The trio gave one more glare back over their shoulders before moving further away. Hyouga left them alone to go yell at Salem, who was in the process of sneaking up on Hiei and Sha with a loaded water gun. "You're really happy with all this?"

She smiled at him. "Of course. It's something I've wanted ever since we started middle school and our hormones started going." Her smile started to fade. "Unless you're not happy."

"Don't be stupid. I wouldn't have married you and gotten you pregnant in that order if you didn't make me happy." He gave her his goofy grin. "Who do you think kept me going with all those battles I was in? I always thought of you. The thought of growing old together and doing all this was my motivation." He knelt down before her and kissed her distended belly. "And now Reia is added to my motivation."

Tears lined her eyes as she started laughing. "Oh, Yusuke. You know just what to say and do to make me feel better."

* * *

"So how are you feeling?" Kazuma asked his wife as they cuddled on one of the lounge chairs under an umbrella.

"As fine as any female in my situation would be, I guess," she answered with a smile. They watched as Salem ran by, with Hiei running to try and catch him, yelling something about cold water guns. She laughed behind her hand. "Always the life of the party."

He didn't want to change the subject though. "Have you talked to Sha or Hyouga about tips or anything?"

"I don't really see what I could learn that I don't know from my job as a midwife."

"True. I'm just nervous about all this."

She giggled and snuggled closer. "All first time fathers are. But don't worry; it's only two months in. You still have awhile to get used to the fact we won't be alone anymore."

He thought about it for a minute before he frowned. "Sha and Hyouga said demons were pregnant for seven months, but with humans, the girls are always pregnant for nine. What would be the case with this because I'm a human?"

She thought about it for awhile. "I'm not really sure if it has to do with the mother, or the genes of the child. If anything, we can put a safe estimate at eight months."

They laid in silence for awhile, listening to the gulls caw overhead. The only thing to break the peace was the sound of a person hitting water as Hiei caught up to Salem and threw him into the pool.

"Are you happy with me?" Kazuma asked after awhile.

She leaned up and looked at him curiously. "Of course I am. Why do you ask?"

"When we first met, I kinda forced my love onto you. I was young and stupid and had fallen in love instantly. It took time for you to realize I wasn't kidding with my flirting, and calling you my girlfriend." He sighed. "If I could go back and do it over, I'd be a bit more chivalrous to you."

She laughed behind her hand. "I knew all along what all your flirting was about. I was just new to the whole thing. You have to remember where I come from. There are no boys, and it was a frigid place. I didn't really know how to properly react."

He let out a sheepish chuckle. "Guess I'm just worried over nothing. I was so scared when I thought I'd lose you."

"But you didn't. You beat your opponent and saved me." She leaned over and gave him an Eskimo kiss. "I love you, you big goof. Don't ever think differently."

"I love you too."

* * *

Kurama and Kitsu got out of the water and started walking, hiding behind a bush out of sight of humans so she could wring out her tail. "Was really nice of Koenma to do this for us," she said, batting at her ears to dry them.

"Agreed." He looked away, out towards the ocean and the cawing gulls.

"Kurama? Is something wrong?"

"Just thinking."

"About…?"

"About how you're even giving me a second chance. About how you don't hate me like you should."

She put a hand to his cheek. "Don't be silly. This is what we both wanted all along, wasn't it?"

"It was, but I was such a fool with how I handled the situation. I should've been honest with you from the start instead of making you suffer for two years. But even after I tried convincing myself I had moved on, I couldn't get you out of my head." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "I'm so sorry, for everything."

Her gaze grew sad. "I hated you."

He pulled away to look at her.

"At least, I thought I hated you. If I could fool myself into thinking I did, it would make the pain easier." She gave a sad smile. "And when she refused to acknowledge you, even after you risked your life to save hers, I felt a jolt of happiness." She looked up at him. "Does that make me a horrible person?"

He smiled warmly at her. "Not at all, given the circumstances. She wasn't the right person for me. That tournament probably stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life." His smile slowly wavered. "I just hope you can be patient with me while I adjust to any changes that might occur."

"Of course."

He held her closely again, still secluded by the bushes. "I don't know if you'll believe me, but I love you."

She laughed through her nose softly. "I do believe you. And I love you too."

A rare and wicked grin set itself on his face. "So what would you say if I asked you to come back upstairs with me?"

"Lead the way, my fox."


	31. Foreplay

Theme 32: Confusion  
Pairing: None  
Time Setting: Before Pesadilla

* * *

**Foreplay**

Keiko laughed at a joke Hyouga just told as they sat on the engawa, looking over the gardens of Genkai's temple. She watched as Hyouga's daughter tugged her shoes back on to join the other three children in some sort of game involving sticks and a very unfortunate turtle.

Hyouga rolled her eyes. "Don't encourage your brother, Yuki." She took a deep breath, and yelled, "Misou Harui Himura! You back away from that turtle right this second! Kiete, Tsunada, you do the same or I'll get your father out here!"

The three children obviously pouted, but opted to play another game instead, this one being tag. The two boys both tagged Tsunada, who dropped where she was standing and started to wail.

Hyouga rolled her eyes. "I will never understand boys, no matter what age they are."

Tsunada ran up to her, crying her little red eyes out. "Auntie Hyouga, I don't wanna be it!"

Hyouga was about to say more when a sudden outburst of yelling caught their attention. "What in the world—?"

The shoji door a few feet away from them burst into black flames, and a very confused fire demon leapt backwards out of the destroyed space, sword held in front of him. "What the hell did I do?" He jumped out of the way as a ball of the black flames came out of the remains of the room, landing where he had just been standing.

"It's all some big joke, isn't it?" a pissed off half dragoness yelled as she came out onto the engawa, rapier in one hand and another set aflame with black embers. In an instant she lunged at him, sword held at the ready to strike.

He deflected a blow and dodged out of the way of another. "What the hell is wrong with you, Woman?"

Keiko looked on as the two fought. "I knew Sha had a testy temper just as Hiei did, but…" She was at a loss for words as Kiete and Misou ran out of the way of the couple, one rooting for his mother, the other rooting for his uncle.

Hyouga put a hand over her face. "This is their version of foreplay, I swear."

Yusuke and Salem took the time to rush out onto the engawa. "We heard an explosion, what—" Yusuke looked out to the duel just as Hiei ducked a swing of her rapier. "Oh jeez. What'd he do to piss her off?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Hyouga said, watching another ball of black fire come to life and jump off its creator's palm.

Salem let out a low whistle. "If she's trying to kill him, it can't be good."

"Nah, you just don't know Sha very well."

"Is this really the only way I can get some form of life out of you these days?" Sha yelled, still relentlessly swinging against his defenses. "You've been so caught up in your own little world, you won't even answer me when I ask a simple question!"

Hyouga flinched. "Ouch. I just thought he said her ass was big."

"That's not true!" Hiei argued back, deflecting another blow.

"What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing!" He dodged as another fireball landed where he had previously been standing.

"Liar! Who is she?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Who is whom?" His eyes widened as he bent backwards out of a swing of her sword.

"The cheap floozy you're seeing behind my back."

"There is no other woman!" He sidestepped another fireball. "Honestly!"

"Then why are you acting this way?"

"Acting which way?"

"Withdrawn. We've been over this! We tell each other everything, even if it sometimes hurts. Is it that you don't love me anymore?"

"That's the furthest thing from the truth!"

She stopped short and threw her rapier into the ground at his feet and stalked up to him, poking his chest. Despite the situation, it was amusing to the onlookers to see his shorter wife keeping him on his toes. "Then what was is wrong with you?"

He growled as she gave a particularly hard jab at his chest and caught her hand in his, keeping a firm grip on it. "There's been nothing to hold my interest lately. Even sex isn't interesting anymore." At her arched brow, he added, "It's nothing you're doing, it's me. I'm bored with doing missions for Enki and coming home to… well, just coming home and not doing anything besides wait for the next mission."

She digested his words slowly and he removed his hold on her hand to put his sword away. "You're regretting your choice?"

"No!" He grit his teeth in frustration. "No, that's not it. I just want us to do more than live." He gestured to the now-ruined room they were in previous. "That's the most excitement we've had out of bed in years. It's something of you that I fell in love with four years ago, and I haven't seen it since we faced the Collector issue."

She looked down at her feet. "I suppose I have turned boring, huh?"

He wanted to argue it, but he couldn't. Instead, he put it in other terms that wouldn't hurt her. "Things like this, I want to do them more." He was about to get closer to her when a wall of black fire shot up in front of him, making him jump back. Through it, he could see her wicked grin.

"Don't play with fire if you don't want to get burned," she said, and started attacking him once again, though this time all anger was long forgotten.

The other four looked on with confused stares while the demon children laughed.

"Did they just make up or something, because I can't tell," Yusuke said, pointing a loose finger at them.

"Maybe they agreed to disagree?" Salem supplied while Keiko just sat flabbergasted.

Hyouga shook her head and sighed. "Seriously, foreplay."


	32. Remember

Theme 3: Soft  
Pairing: Sha x Hiei  
Time Setting: During Bonds of Life

An idea has been nagging me for days on this. And excuse me that this is more smut from this couple. It's just a bit easier. Same rules apply, with the uncut being found on the adultfanfiction site. The smut part of the idea came from an article on the five ways a woman can orgasm.

* * *

**Remember**

"_Over here!"_

"_I swear, Boy. If this is come sort of trick—"_

"_It's not, Boss-man. I know I saw something duck in there." The boy fell back onto his tail, scared by a sudden rustle in the bushes. _

"_Move over, Boy." The much older demon moved through the bushes, disappearing for a minute. He returned, carrying a struggling runt of a girl, letting out a stream of supposed curses. "Here's your little disturbance."_

_The boy frowned at the language she was using. "She's speaking Dracish."_

"_See if she speaks anything else; it's grating on my nerves."_

_He nodded. "_Sheka shi _English?"_

_The runt female fell quiet, staring at the boy as if he had a second head. "_Ame_?"_

"Sheka shi _English?"_

"_English?" She frowned. "_Ame na _English?"_

_He shook his head, noting how she stared at his dragon horns, still developing. "'Fraid it's just Dracish, Boss-man."_

"_See what she's doing out here alone. From the tail and eyes, and the obvious language barrier, it's clear she belongs on Doragon." He dropped her to the ground, eliciting a grunt from her._

_The boy frowned, but hunched down to her level, asking her where she came from. They exchanged words for awhile, making the older demon tap his foot in impatience._

"_Well?"_

"_Seems she's Haraguroi's daughter. The council's just chucked her out. She's only seven."_

_The older demon frowned. "That old ass finally bred?"_

"_Last I heard, they were still forcing suitors on him."_

"_So why did they cast out the heir they've been waiting on?"_

"_Her mother wasn't a dragon."_

"_That matters?"_

_The boy held his hand out to the small girl, offering her some comfort. "We're a highly prideful bunch. Purebloods only. Besides, our DNA doesn't combine well with others." He looked to his elder. "She's alone now."_

"_Yeah, and what happens if she turns into that last runt I took in?"_

_The boy frowned. "He moved on to live his own life." He looked as she curled up around him and cried softly. "I'll take care of her. Teach her proper speech."_

_The elder thought over it for a minute before sighing, waving a hand as he turned and walked away. "She's your ward, not mine. Don't let her become your old friend, Sven."_

* * *

"_I love you."_

_She stared at him. "Get that out of your head. We're the only ones left; you're just—"_

"_I know what I am. I am a black dragon, and so are you."_

_She shook her head. "No, I'm not. Sven, I couldn't provide children for you. I can't breed with another dragon."_

"_You think I care?" He grabbed on to her arm as she tried to turn away. "We'll adopt, we'll do something if it comes down to it. Sha, I love you. I'll do anything for you."_

"_Sven…"_

"_Mate with me. I'll protect you always."_

_She stared at him before smiling softly. "Stubborn as ever."_

* * *

"_Sven!"_

"_Run for it, Idiot!"_

_A harsh laugh erupted behind them. "Run while you can, Dragon!" It was closer than before._

_Sha's eyes widened as she was pushed out of the way, before a sickening wet sound permeated her ears. She scrambled to her feet, turning around just in time to see the sword sticking through her mate's belly. "No. No!" She watched in horror as the sword pushed through further before twisting and pulling out. _

_Sven fell without the support of the weapon, blood pooling quickly around him from the fatal blow._

_Sha's eyes snapped angrily up at his killer, black flames dancing on her fingers. "You—You— heartless wretch!"_

_The bounty hunter grinned. "You're not on the boss's list. You're not worth killing. You'll die from being so weak anyway." He flicked his sword free of viscera while he turned to walk away, sliding the blade back into its sheath with a click. _

"_Bastard!" She hauled herself to her feet. "I will hunt you down and kill you! I will never forgive you for this!" She launched herself at him, ready to strike with her fire._

_Once within range however, he threw out a punch, catching her square in the gut._

_She held onto her middle, landing right next to her fading mate. Her fangs had nicked the inside of her cheek, forcing her to spit out a bit of blood._

"_Be wise and give up." Without another word, he left through the dense forest._

"_Sven… Sven… Don't leave me here." Tears spilled from her eyes. "Don't leave me. Don't. Please." The mark on her neck faded away. _"Don't leave me alone."

"Sha? I'm not going anywhere."

She felt a strong presence around her as she woke. "Hiei?"

"I'm not leaving you." He nuzzled her neck softly. "You're not alone."

Sha felt a small surge of panic flow through her, causing her to fling herself to face him, clinging close to him to reassure herself she was still in that moment of time.

"The dreams we share. The nightmares of the past. There is nothing that can be done to prevent them."

"I don't want to be alone again."

"You won't be." He tilted her head up and lightly kissed her tears away. "You are mine, and I am yours." He glanced over at the clock, seeing they had plenty of time yet to sleep. "And for the next hour or so, I will remind you of that."

* * *

She was as winded and exhausted as himself an hour later, but still leaned up and kissed him gently, running a hand through his short spikes.

He glanced down at the mess he made and let out a short laugh. "Sorry, was either there, or make a bigger mess in you. This is easier to clean off."

She shook her head. "It's all right. You didn't have to do any of this. I know gentle isn't your style."

"I make exceptions sometimes." He got off her to get a towel from the bathroom, cleaning himself off before handing it to her. He waited until she cleaned up before slipping back into bed "Besides, nights like this, it wouldn't help any to be rough like usual."

She laughed as he pulled her to lie on top of his chest. "Doesn't stop you any other night."

"Any other night doesn't require me to make you remember you are not alone." He brushed a bit of her red bangs out of her face behind her ears. "Pounding your brains out is just fun, not a way to connect with you when you're having a bad night."

A tear started in the corner of her eye. "Someone does have a heart."

"Call me the Tin Man then."

She laughed at his horrible joke before settling back down, listening to his breathing. "Thank you, for reminding me."

"Just don't let my soft side get out to anyone."

"And ruin your hardass reputation? Never." Her gaze grew sad. "I know I shouldn't say this, but I'm kind of glad things turned out the way they did. Not that he died to protect me, but… it gave me the chance to find you, albeit two hundred years later."

"And it allowed me to do the same." He gently ran his fingers through her hair as she drifted off, worn out from everything he had done to her. "You will never have to suffer alone again."


	33. Out of the Dark

Theme 34: Thunder and Lightning

Pairing: None

Time Setting: Between "Bonds of Life" and "The Akumu Tournament"

* * *

**Out of the Dark**

"It's going to be a nasty one in just a few short hours folks. Take your pets out now, bring the furniture in, and make sure your kids are indoors." The demon on the TV pointed towards a viciously swirling mass heading right for the area that held the city of Severa, as well as several miles in diameter of the surrounding land. "As we can see, this is a powerful storm kicking up very ugly lightning. I don't want to see the poor sap stuck out on the streets when this hits, so get indoors now."

Sha unlatched Shadow's leash once she heard the news broadcast, and let the dog roam the house again. "Hope he's home by then…" She hooked the leash next to the door and shifted the weight of her eighteen-month-old son in her arms as he began to wake up. "I see you enjoyed the walk as well, little Kiete."

The child rubbed at his black eyes and rustled his tiny wings in a sort of stretch.

She smiled softly as she carried him back to the couch to sit down. Shadow leapt up as well to settle down for a well-deserved nap. "It is remarkable how much you resemble him." A sudden crash outside made her jump, and made Kiete start to cry from being startled. "Oh hell's bells. It's all right, Mommy's here." Her focus went to the TV where the storm system was still moving slowly but surely right towards Severa. "Let's just hope Daddy gets home safe…"

"So I repeat, bring everything inside that you can, furniture, pets, and children alike. Wind speed will rise so high, a pencil can be shot straight through a tree. We now go live to Morty Stinson on the streets of Severa to give his report. Morty?"

The station froze for a moment while it switched over to a live view of the city. A hunched over, green-skinned man stood in a raincoat on the sidewalk while other demons around him hurried to get off the streets. "Thanks Dean. I'm here outside Don's Bakery, solely because the crew needed some coffee and tasty treats, so after this storm, I highly recommend coming to check this place out." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, as you can see behind me, the normally deep red skies have become almost completely black with the impending hurricane. Landfall is expected in about an hour, and power outages are a definite. The electric companies are standing by, ready to fix whatever damages arise." A loud crack of thunder sounded on the TV and rain began to pour on the man. "Well Dean, it looks like the rain is here, but the hurricane is still set for landfall in an hour. Back to you at the studio, I'm going back inside the bakery to get another cannoli."

Sha sighed and looked out her own window, seeing no sign of the usual red sky at all. The immediate downpour that was on the news reflected exactly the same as outside her window. "Good thing you went for a walk, huh Shadow? No idea when you'll get to go out again."

The dog merely huffed and rolled to his side as a response.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as the front door burst open again. She leapt to her feet, child still in hand, only to start laughing slightly. "You look like a drowned rat."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Bite me. I got caught in it just as I was getting to the building."

She nodded to the TV. "You missed the worst of it. They're saying landfall in an hour."

He headed past her towards their room. "Good for me. Give me a second so I can get out of this stuff."

"Sure." She sat down again, but shook her head as she started feeling a little dizzy. "That's odd…" She managed to keep herself steady until Hiei came back out in dry clothes. Instantly, she got up and handed him Kiete. "Hold him, I'm not feeling so great all of a sudden."

He frowned at her retreating back. "You weren't feeling great yesterday, or the day before that too."

"Might've caught something," she said hurried, and holed herself up in her bathroom. "At least I hope that's what it is." Immediately after purging her stomach, her nerves gave a lurch as she realized she was late. "I can't be…" She put a hand to her belly and closed her eyes, concentrating. She felt out for heartbeats, finding her own easily, though just as she was about to pull away, another beat sounded faintly behind her own, this one a rapid movement. "Oh hell." She tried to get up, only to be startled by an enormous crack of thunder and the lights going out around her. She felt around for the door handle, effectively bruising her wrist as she missed a few times. Once she finally got out, she used the still-faint glow of the sky to shuffle out of the bedroom. "Fine now."

"Good. I put the hellion in his prison. While there was still light, of course." Lightning lit up the room, followed by another crack of thunder. "Sounds like it's directly above us."

She nodded. "Yeah, sounds like it." She rubbed at her arms as the crashes and flashes continued outside and the rain began to pound harder. "Seems we need to talk."

"About what?"

"Come here a minute." She waited until he was close enough, then grabbed his hand and put it over her belly. "Feel for it." She felt him falter for a second before he nodded and felt for the presence.

"That clears a few things up." He pulled away and crossed his arms. "So, you're pregnant."

"Seems so."

"Can't tell the sex on it yet though. Too soon." He shook his head. "Are you prepared for another one of these?"

"Not in the slightest. Kiete takes up enough of my time, but what else can we do?" She bit at her lip. "I know you said you wouldn't mind more than one, but is that still even true?"

He shrugged. "Nothing we can do about it besides raise it. I'm not about to become a killer of my own potential offspring." He looked back to the playpen, where Kiete had curled into a ball for a nap, despite the ruckus of the impending hurricane outside. He let a smile slip. "Besides, this one's turning out fine. What harm would a second one bring?"

Just as she tried to answer, a particularly loud crack sounded from outside, making her jump forward into his surprised grasp. They both laughed after a second, realizing the lighting had struck a tree outside. "Those guys on the news weren't kidding, jeez." She held on to him tighter though, and nuzzled his neck. "So what got you willing for another hellion?"

"You were so pleasant while you were pregnant the last time I thought it would be loads of fun to do it again." He grinned as she bit his shoulder playfully. "I'm not sure, really. Same as last time. Do I really need a reason to want to breed with you?"

"Not particularly." She smiled into his shoulder. "You up for doing random errands when I get rounder again?"

"Never was." He pulled away and started gathering candles from around the apartment so they could have some form of light.

She leaned against the couch and stared out at the strong bolts of lightning attacking their fair city, a thoughtful look gracing her face. The power cutting out could prove to be extremely advantageous in letting her keep her new pregnancy a surprise from her friends. Another loud clap of thunder made her flinch. "This is going to be an exceptionally long night…"


	34. Turn Table

Theme 36: Bonds  
Paring: Hiei x Sha  
Time: After "The Akumu Tournament"

* * *

**Turn Table**

"You mean to tell me not once, in your entire existence, have you gone into a porn store?" Shizuru asked Shakaku as they, and Kitsu, traveled the busy streets of Tokyo.

Sha merely shook her head. "I mean, I've gone into stores that sell negligees, but never one that sold… gadgets for sex."

"But aren't you, like, two-hundred something years old?"

"Two-hundred-and-thirty-eight now, actually," the dragon said, growing a little flustered with the conversation brewing.

"She won't use the stuff," Kitsu answered. "I bought her a Rabbit for her bachelorette present, and I ended up taking it home!"

Sha rolled her eyes. "Excuse me if I prefer the real thing."

"Yeah, but can he really do the things that vibe could have?"

"Obviously not, but I'll still keep to not using gadgets."

"You use restraints, don't you?" the vixen countered.

"On me, yes."

"That much we figured," Shizuru said, taking a drag from her cigarette. "You don't seem the type that can be domineering to someone like your husband."

Kitsu laughed. "He'd never roll over for anyone, especially not her."

Sha flushed a bit. "Excuse me that my husband is a warrior, unlike yours. Dominance is something he gets regardless of what I say. That's just how it is."

Kitsu scoffed. "You can't tell me that you've never thought of tying him up and doing what you wanted. I mean, with how bull-headed he is around everyone, and how strong he actually is despite his size, it would be empowering to have control over him, even if for just a night."

Sha bit at the inside of her cheek and looked to the busy streets.

The human just smirked around her cigarette. "Look Kitsu, I think she has thought of it before."

The dragon shook her head. "Doesn't matter if I have. It won't happen. The rare times I've been dominant, it never ends with my dominance. I've pinned him, ridden him, and bitten him, but it just raises his own dominance and I return back to my submissive nature." She shrugged. "So it's usually when he wants it, and how he wants it."

Kitsu narrowed her eyes. "You don't engage sex?"

"I used to. Now with the kids I just get so tired so easily. Kiete being in school now is extremely helpful, but I still have Tsunada at home, and she's such a handful. I mean, I want it, all the time, I just never initiate it anymore."

"That's… not really good, Sha. You need sex for a healthy marriage, especially with two kids."

Shizuru looked up ahead and grinned. "Hyouga's watching them right now, right?"

"Yeah, she wasn't feeling up for an outing, but she wouldn't turn down watching them. Why do you ask?"

"Call her when you get home and have her watch them tonight for you. We're buying you some assets for the bedroom that you're going to use tonight."

Sha followed the human's gaze and she felt her nerves give a jolt. "W-what do you have in mind?"

"You'll see." Shizuru marched the other two girls into the shop, and she didn't let them stop until they were at the register, showing their IDs. "Now then," she said as the other two slipped their wallets into their purses, "we want to go… this way." She led them away from the frilly pink and white outfits to another section of the store. The pink and white fluff turned to black leather, and chains replaced the frills.

Surprisingly enough, Sha became more relaxed the more spikes and chains she saw. "Fine, you have me hooked on the idea. What way would I go about this?"

Shizuru grinned. "I'm assuming you have something in the ways of outfits, so we won't worry about that." She looked around. "I'm also assuming your cuffs are fuzzy and can come off easily if you lose the key."

"Yes, actually."

"Ditch those." She pulled a set off the rack next to her and tossed them to the dragon. "Metal works better if you want a bit of pain. I know you demons get pretty freaky in the sack."

"Ooh, you need this too," Kitsu said as she eyed a few chokers on display. She held up one lined with spikes that had a ring on the front of it. "It snap buckles, so it'll stay in place no matter what. Have to pinch the outside bits inward to actually unlatch it. So for tonight, while you're doing your thing, it's just for looks, but when you go back to whatever it is you do, you can be dragged around by it without it falling off. Neat."

Sha smirked. "I'd been looking for something like that, actually." She caught it as Kitsu tossed it to her. "Anything else?"

"One more thing," Shizuru said, handing her a whip. The rubber ends wiggled as she moved it. "I'm sure you know how to use one of these things."

"Not as well as Kitsu or Kurama, but I can figure it out."

"Hey!" Kitsu snapped. "I'll have you know that he's very experienced with those things, and it really is awesome if done right." She smiled at the memory. "Left bruises for a few days last time. Though I left a few of my own too…"

Sha gave a light laugh as they went back to the counter, already planning which of her "attire" she would wear for the evening. As they left the store, she opened a mental tendril to her husband. _"You're home for the night, I hope."_

"_For now, yes,"_ Hiei answered. _"Why?"_

She took a deep breath before answering, _"I want to be dominant tonight."_

His slight unease bled into the link. _"I am not some dog that can be told what to do."_

She felt herself getting angry with him. _"In the seven years we have been together, I've only shown brief lapses in my submissive self. Tonight, I want you to answer to me. I am not demanding you become submissive forever, I could never ask that of you, nor do I want that. For once, I want to feel like more than a housewife who does her husband's bidding despite how tired I may be. Why would you deny me that?"_

"_I do not take well to orders, you know this."_

"_Please, just do this for me, just once."_

He sighed heavily into the link. _"Just this once."_

"_Good. I'll be home in an hour. Be naked by the time I arrive."_ She closed off the link, a satisfied smile emerging on her face.

* * *

The whole portion of this submission will be posted to adult fanfiction. So, if you'd like to see how this plays out, head over to the other site and find out. ;)


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